Bashly - Bash CLI Framework and Generator

Create beautiful bash scripts from simple YAML configuration

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Installation

$ gem install bashly

What is Bashly

Bashly is a command line application (written in Ruby) that lets you generate feature-rich bash command line tools.

The design intention is to let you focus on your specific code, without worrying about command line argument parsing, usage texts, error messages and other functions that are usually handled by a framework in any other programming language.

Bahsly is responsible for:

• Generating a single, standalone bash script.
• Generating usage texts and help screens, showing your tool's arguments, flags and subcommands (works for subcommands also).
• Parsing the user's command line and extracting:
  • Optional or required positional arguments.
  • Optional or required option flags (with or without flag arguments).
  • Subcommands (and sub-subcommands).
  • Standard flags (like --help and --version).
• Providing you with a place to input your code for each of the functions your tool performs, and merging it back to the final script.
• Providing you with additional (optional) framework-style, standard library functions:
  • Color output.
  • Config file management (INI format).
  • YAML parsing.

Usage

In an empty directory, create a sample configuration file by running

$ bashly init
# or, to generate a simpler configuration:
$ bashly init --minimal

This will create a sample src/bashly.yml file. You can edit this file to specify which arguments, flags and subcommands you need in your bash script.

Then, generate an initial bash script and function placeholder scripts by running

$ bashly generate

This will:

1. Create the bash executable script.
2. Create files for you to edit in the src folder.

Finally, edit the files in the src folder. Each of your script's commands get their own file. Once you edit, run bashly generate again to merge the content from your functions back into the script.

Examples

The bashly.yml file can be set up to generate two types of scripts:

1. Script with subcommands (for example, like docker or git).
2. Script without subcommands (for example, like ls)

This is detected automatically by the contents of the configuration: If it contains a commands definition, it will generate a script with subcommands.

Sample configuraiton for a script without subcommands

• Generate this script by running bashly generate --minimal
• See the initial sample bashly.yml file
• See the generated bash script

Sample configuraiton for a script with subcommands

• Generate this script by running bashly generate
• See the initial sample bashly.yml file
• See the generated bash script

See the examples folder for more examples.

Configuration Reference

The bashly.yml configuration file consists of these types:

• Command - defines the root command as well as any subcommand.
• Argument - defines positional arguments.
• Flag - defines option flags.
• Environment Variable - defines environment variables required (or desired) by your script.

Command options

Unless otherwise specified, these definitiona can be used for both the root command and subcommands (under the commands definition).

Argument options

The argument's value will be available to you as ${args[user]} in your bash function.

Flag options

The flag's value will be available to you as ${args[--output]} in your bash function (regardless of whether the user provided ut with the long or short form).

Environment Variable options

The below configuration generates this environment variable usage text:

If an environment variable is defined as required (false by default), the execution of the script will be halted with a friendly error if it is not set.

Real World Examples

• Rush - a Personal Package Manager

Contributing / Support

If you experience any issue, have a question or a suggestion, or if you wish to contribute, feel free to open an issue.