cliff

CLI output formatting tools: "Your CLI Formatting Friend".

Installation

$3

``
curl http://npmjs.org/install.sh | sh
`

$3

`
[sudo] npm install cliff
`

Usage

There are a number of methods available in Cliff for common logging tasks in command-line tools. If you're looking for more usage, checkout the [examples in this repository][3]:

1. Logging rows of data
2. Inspecting Objects

$3

cliff.stringifyRows(rows[, colors])

Takes a set of Arrays and row headers and returns properly formatted and padded rows. Here's a sample:

` js
var cliff = require('../lib/cliff');

var rows = [
['Name', 'Flavor', 'Dessert'],
['Alice', 'cherry', 'yogurt'],
['Bob', 'carmel', 'apples'],
['Joe', 'chocolate', 'cake'],
['Nick', 'vanilla', 'ice cream']
];

console.log(cliff.stringifyRows(rows, ['red', 'blue', 'green']));
`

![output from string-rows.js][string-rows]

cliff.putRows(level, rows[, colors])

The putRows method is a simple helper that takes a set of Arrays and row headers and logs properly formatted and padded rows (logs stringifyRows to [winston][0]). Here's a quick sample:

` js
var cliff = require('../lib/cliff');

var rows = [
['Name', 'Flavor', 'Dessert'],
['Alice', 'cherry', 'yogurt'],
['Bob', 'carmel', 'apples'],
['Joe', 'chocolate', 'cake'],
['Nick', 'vanilla', 'ice cream']
];

cliff.putRows('data', rows, ['red', 'blue', 'green']);
`

The resulting output on the command-line would be:

![output from put-rows.js][put-rows]

cliff.stringifyObjectRows(objs, properties[, colors])
used to be: cliff.rowifyObjects(objs, properties, colors)

Takes a set of Objects and the properties to extract from them and returns properly formatted and padded rows. Here's a sample:

` js
var cliff = require('../lib/cliff');

var objs = [], obj = {
name: "bazz",
address: "1234 Nowhere Dr.",
};

for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
objs.push({
name: obj.name,
address: obj.address,
id: Math.random().toString()
});
}

console.log(cliff.stringifyObjectRows(objs, ['id', 'name', 'address'], ['red', 'blue', 'green']));
`

![output from string-object-rows.js][string-object-rows]

cliff.putObjectRows(level, objs, properties[, colors])

Takes a set of Objects and the properties to extract from them and it will log to the console. (it prints stringifyObjectRows with [winston][0]). Here's a sample:

` js
var cliff = require('../lib/cliff');

var objs = [], obj = {
name: "bazz",
address: "1234 Nowhere Dr.",
};

for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
objs.push({
name: obj.name,
address: obj.address,
id: Math.random().toString()
});
}

cliff.putObjectRows('data', objs, ['id', 'name', 'address']);
`

![output from string-object-rows.js][string-object-rows]

Colors Parameter

The colors parameter is an array that colors the first row. It uses the [colors.js][2]. You can use any of those.

` js
var cliff = require('../lib/cliff');

var rows = [
['Name', 'Flavor', 'Dessert'],
['Alice'.grey, 'cherry'.cyan, 'yogurt'.yellow],
['Bob'.magenta, 'carmel'.rainbow, 'apples'.white],
['Joe'.italic, 'chocolate'.underline, 'cake'.inverse],
['Nick'.bold, 'vanilla', 'ice cream']
];

cliff.putRows('data', rows, ['red', 'blue', 'green']);
`

The resulting output on the command-line would be:

![output from puts-rows-colors.js][put-rows-colors]

$3

cliff.inspect(obj)

The inspect method is a lightweight wrapper to a pre-configured [eyes][1] inspector. If you wish to change the coloring of objects that are logged using cliff you only need to override cliff.inspect with a new [eyes][1] inspector. Here is how to use it:

` js
var cliff = require('../lib/cliff');

console.log(cliff.inspect({
literal: "bazz",
arr: [
"one",
2,
],
obj: {
host: "localhost",
port: 5984,
auth: {
username: "admin",
password: "password"
}
}
}));
`

![output from inspect.js][inspect]

cliff.putObject(obj, [rewriters, padding])

The putObject method is a simple helper function for prefixing and styling inspected object output from [eyes][1]. Here's a quick sample:

` js
var cliff = require('cliff');

cliff.putObject({
literal: "bazz",
arr: [
"one",
2,
],
obj: {
host: "localhost",
port: 5984,
auth: {
username: "admin",
password: "password"
}
}
});
`

The resulting output on the command-line would be:

![output from put-object.js][put-object]

Run Tests

All of the cliff tests are written in [vows][4], and cover all of the use cases described above.

`
npm test
``

Motivation

Cliff is the swiss army knife of CLI formatting tools. It is based on highly flexible and powerful libraries:

* [winston][0]: A multi-transport async logging library for node.js
* [eyes][1]: A customizable value inspector for node.js
* [colors][2]: Get colors in your node.js console like what

#### Author: Charlie Robbins

[0]: http://github.com/indexzero/winston
[1]: http://github.com/cloudhead/eyes.js
[2]: http://github.com/marak/colors.js
[3]: http://github.com/flatiron/cliff/tree/master/examples
[4]: http://vowsjs.org

[inspect]: https://github.com/flatiron/cliff/raw/master/assets/inspect.png
[put-object-rows]: https://github.com/flatiron/cliff/raw/master/assets/put-object-rows.png
[put-object]: https://github.com/flatiron/cliff/raw/master/assets/put-object.png
[put-rows-colors]: https://github.com/flatiron/cliff/raw/master/assets/put-rows-colors.png
[put-rows]: https://github.com/flatiron/cliff/raw/master/assets/put-rows.png
[string-object-rows]: https://github.com/flatiron/cliff/raw/master/assets/string-object-rows.png
[string-rows]: https://github.com/flatiron/cliff/raw/master/assets/string-rows.png