robin

Your own customizable CLI tool

Reason

Maintaining a simple JSON file with all the available tasks allows for easy customization of deployment, release, cleaning, and other project-specific actions. This ensures that everyone on the team can use, edit, and add tasks on a project level.

Features

• Define and run project-specific scripts via .robin.json
• Support for both single commands and command sequences
• Interactive mode with fuzzy search
• List all available commands
• Add new commands easily
• Cross-platform support
• Template initialization for different project types
• Variable substitution with default values
• Enum validation for variables

Installation

# From crates.io
cargo install robin_cli_tool

# From source
cargo install --path .

Usage

Initialize a new project

robin init

This creates a .robin.json file in your current directory with some template scripts.

Using templates

# Initialize with a specific template
robin init --template android    # Android project template
robin init --template ios        # iOS project template
robin init --template flutter    # Flutter project template
robin init --template rails      # Ruby on Rails project template
robin init --template node       # Node.js/TypeScript project template
robin init --template python     # Python project template
robin init --template rust       # Rust project template
robin init --template go         # Go project template

Each template comes with a curated set of useful commands for that specific platform or framework. For example:

• Android: Gradle commands, testing, linting (ktlint), and deployment
• iOS: Xcode build, CocoaPods, testing, SwiftLint, and Fastlane commands
• Flutter: Build, test, dependency management, and platform-specific commands
• Rails: Server, console, database tasks, testing, and code generation
• Node.js: Development, testing (Jest), TypeScript, linting (ESLint), and formatting (Prettier)
• Python: Virtual env, testing (pytest), linting (flake8), formatting (black), and type checking (mypy)
• Rust: Cargo commands for building, testing, linting (clippy), formatting, and documentation
• Go: Build, test, linting (golangci-lint), formatting, and dependency management

If a .robin.json file already exists, you'll be prompted to confirm before overriding it.

List all commands

robin --list

Interactive mode

robin --interactive  # or -i

Add a new command

robin add "deploy" "fastlane deliver --submit-to-review"

Run a command

robin deploy staging
robin release beta

Configuration

The .robin.json file supports both single commands and command sequences:

{
    "scripts": {
        "clean": "rm -rf build/",
        "deploy": "echo 'ruby deploy tool --{{env=[staging,production]}}'",
        "prep-and-deploy": [
            "robin clean",
            "robin build",
            "robin deploy --env=production"
        ],
        "full-release": [
            "flutter clean",
            "flutter pub get",
            "flutter build ios",
            "cd ios && fastlane beta"
        ]
    }
}

When using command sequences (arrays):

• Commands are executed in order
• If any command fails, the sequence stops
• Environment variables and working directory are preserved between commands
• Notifications show total execution time for the sequence

External Configuration

Robin supports including external configuration files, which is particularly useful for monorepos or sharing common scripts across projects:

{
    "include": [
        "../common/robin.base.json",
        "./team-specific.json"
    ],
    "scripts": {
        "local-dev": "npm run dev",
        "test": "npm run test"
    }
}

Monorepo Example

Here's a typical monorepo structure using shared scripts:

monorepo/
├── common/
│   └── robin.base.json        # Shared scripts for all projects
├── frontend/
│   ├── .robin.json            # Frontend-specific scripts
│   └── package.json
├── backend/
│   ├── .robin.json            # Backend-specific scripts
│   └── package.json
└── mobile/
    ├── .robin.json            # Mobile-specific scripts
    └── pubspec.yaml

common/robin.base.json:

{
    "scripts": {
        "lint": "eslint .",
        "format": "prettier --write .",
        "docker:up": "docker-compose up -d",
        "docker:down": "docker-compose down",
        "ci:test": [
            "npm ci",
            "npm run test"
        ]
    }
}

frontend/.robin.json:

{
    "include": ["../common/robin.base.json"],
    "scripts": {
        "dev": "next dev",
        "build": "next build",
        "start": "next start",
        "deploy:staging": [
            "robin docker:down",
            "robin build",
            "robin docker:up"
        ]
    }
}

mobile/.robin.json:

{
    "include": ["../common/robin.base.json"],
    "scripts": {
        "dev": "flutter run",
        "build:android": "flutter build apk",
        "build:ios": "flutter build ios",
        "deploy:beta": [
            "robin build:{{platform=[ios,android]}}",
            "fastlane {{platform}} beta"
        ]
    }
}

Scripts from included files are merged with local scripts, where local scripts take precedence. This allows you to:

• Share common development workflows across projects
• Maintain consistent CI/CD scripts
• Override shared scripts when needed
• Keep project-specific scripts separate from shared ones

Variable Substitution

Basic Variables

Use {{variable}} in your scripts and pass them as --variable=XXX when running the command:

{
    "scripts": {
        "deploy": "fastlane {{platform}} {{env}}"
    }
}

Then run:

robin deploy --platform=ios --env=staging

Default Values

You can specify default values for variables using {{variable=default}} syntax:

{
    "scripts": {
        "build": "echo \"Building {{mode=debug}}\"",
        "deploy": "echo \"Deploying to {{env=staging}} with version {{version=latest}}\""
    }
}

Using default values:

robin build             # Will use default: debug
robin deploy            # Will use defaults: staging and latest

# Override defaults:
robin build --mode=release                  # Will use: release
robin deploy --env=prod --version=1.0.0     # Will use: prod and 1.0.0

Enum Validation

You can restrict variable values to a specific set using {{variable=[value1, value2, ...]}} syntax:

{
    "scripts": {
        "deploy": "echo \"Deploying to {{env=[staging, prod]}}\"",
        "build": "cargo build --{{mode=[debug, release]}}",
        "deploy:app": "fastlane {{platform=[ios, android]}} {{env=[dev, staging, prod]}} --track={{track=[alpha, beta, production]}}"
    }
}

Using enum validation:

# Simple validation
robin deploy --env=staging   # Works: 'staging' is allowed
robin deploy --env=prod      # Works: 'prod' is allowed
robin deploy --env=dev       # Fails: only 'staging' or 'prod' are allowed

# Build modes
robin build --mode=debug     # Works: 'debug' is allowed
robin build --mode=release   # Works: 'release' is allowed
robin build --mode=test      # Fails: only 'debug' or 'release' are allowed

# Multiple validations
robin deploy:app \
    --platform=ios \
    --env=staging \
    --track=beta            # Works: all values are allowed

robin deploy:app \
    --platform=web \        # Fails: 'web' is not in [ios, android]
    --env=staging \
    --track=beta

Variables work in both single commands and command sequences:

{
    "scripts": {
        "deploy-sequence": [
            "flutter clean",
            "flutter build {{platform=[ios,android]}}",
            "fastlane {{platform}} beta"
        ]
    }
}

Development Environment

Doctor Command

The doctor command helps verify your development environment is properly set up:

robin doctor

This will check:

• 📦 Required Tools
  • Cargo and Rust
  • Ruby and Fastlane
  • Flutter
  • Node.js and npm
• 🔧 Environment Variables
  • ANDROID_HOME
  • JAVA_HOME
  • FLUTTER_ROOT
• 📱 Platform Tools
  • Android Debug Bridge (adb)
  • Xcode Command Line Tools
  • CocoaPods
• 🔐 Git Configuration
  • user.name
  • user.email

Example output:

🔍 Checking development environment...

📦 Required Tools:
✅ Cargo: cargo 1.75.0
✅ Rust: rustc 1.75.0
✅ Ruby: ruby 3.2.2
✅ Fastlane: fastlane 2.217.0
❌ Flutter not found
✅ Node.js: v20.10.0
✅ npm: 10.2.3

🔧 Environment Variables:
✅ ANDROID_HOME is set
✅ JAVA_HOME is set
❌ FLUTTER_ROOT is not set

📱 Platform Tools:
✅ Android Debug Bridge (adb): Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41
✅ Xcode Command Line Tools: installed
✅ CocoaPods: 1.14.3

🔐 Git Configuration:
✅ Git user.name is set
✅ Git user.email is set

Update Development Tools

To update all development tools to their latest versions:

robin doctor:update

This will update:

• Rust (via rustup)
• Flutter
• Fastlane (via gem)
• Global npm packages
• CocoaPods repositories

License

MIT © Cesar Ferreira