CLI command line tool

How to create a package that can be used as cli (and package)?

Folder Structure

• use the generator: https://github.com/yeoman/generator-node

• create a bin folder, create a file called: 'my-cli'

  #!/usr/bin/env node
  require(__dirname+'/../dist/my-cli')

• Update your package.json:

"files": [
    "dist",
    "bin"
  ],
"main": "./dist/index.js",
"bin": {
    "my-cli": "./bin/my-cli"
},

• So the flow is:

  • We tell package the bin file is in the bin folder

  • The bin file invokes the actual script in dist folder

  • We develop the script in lib folder and babel the source ('prepublish') to dist folder

  • To test locally on dev machine

    npm link
    # then start using the cli version

  • To publish internally, do

    npm version minor # update version
    npm pack # this will create the abc-1.0.0.tgz file
    
    # to install and use
    npm install -g abc-1.0.0.tgz

Reference:

• https://github.com/bevry/cson

• https://docs.npmjs.com/files/package.json

• http://javascriptplayground.com/blog/2015/03/node-command-line-tool/

• https://docs.npmjs.com/misc/scripts

Useful Libs

• interactive input https://github.com/SBoudrias/Inquirer.js

• cli helper: https://www.npmjs.com/package/meow

• full blown cli tool: https://github.com/tj/commander.js

• isolated cli, similar to REPL: https://github.com/dthree/vorpal

• shell commands, and make tool in js: https://github.com/shelljs/shelljs

  • so you can have a make file like this: https://github.com/madrobby/zepto/blob/master/make

  • to run, do coffee make testName

• color in cli: https://www.npmjs.com/package/chalk

  

A list of cli tools: https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome-nodejs#command-line-apps