dntx v1.0.1

dntx

A simple CLI tool to temporarily install and run .NET tools via npx. No global installation required!

Quick Start

Run any .NET tool directly without installation:

npx dntx@latest <package-id> [arguments]

For example:

# Run the HTTP REPL tool
npx dntx@latest microsoft.dotnet-httprepl

# Run a specific version of a tool
npx dntx@latest microsoft.dotnet-httprepl@6.0.0

# Run with arguments
npx dntx@latest microsoft.dotnet-httprepl https://api.example.com

Prerequisites

• Node.js (>= 14.0.0)
• .NET SDK (any version)

Usage

You can run any .NET tool directly using npx without installing it globally:

npx dntx <package-id> [arguments]

Examples

1. Run a tool without version specification:

npx dntx microsoft.dotnet-httprepl

2. Run a tool with a specific version:

npx dntx microsoft.dotnet-httprepl@6.0.0

3. Run a tool with arguments:

npx dntx microsoft.dotnet-httprepl https://api.example.com

How It Works

1. Checks if .NET SDK is installed
2. Creates a temporary directory
3. Installs the specified .NET tool (with version if specified)
4. Runs the tool with any provided arguments
5. Automatically cleans up after execution

Features

• ✨ No global installation required
• 🎯 Version pinning support (package-id@version)
• 🧹 Automatic cleanup
• 🔄 Works cross-platform
• 🚀 Simple and intuitive interface

Common .NET Tools

Here are some popular .NET tools you can try:

• microsoft.dotnet-httprepl - HTTP REPL command-line tool
• dotnet-ef - Entity Framework Core tools
• dotnet-outdated-tool - Check for outdated NuGet packages
• dotnet-format - Code formatter
• dotnet-trace - Performance analysis tool

Development

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/redth/npx-dntx.git
cd npx-dntx

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

Available Scripts

• npm test - Run tests
• npm run test:watch - Run tests in watch mode
• npm run build - Run build process (currently runs tests)
• npm run prepare-publish - Prepare for publishing (runs build and shows included files)

Running Tests

The project uses Jest for testing. Tests run across multiple Node.js versions and operating systems in CI.

npm test

Continuous Integration

GitHub Actions workflows automatically run tests on:

• Multiple operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Multiple Node.js versions (14.x, 16.x, 18.x, 20.x)
• Multiple .NET SDK versions (6.0.x, 7.0.x, 8.0.x)

Publishing

Preparing for Release

1. Update version and create git tag:

npm version patch  # or minor/major

2. Preview what will be published:

npm run prepare-publish

Publishing to npm

Manual Publishing

npm login
npm publish

Automated Publishing via GitHub

1. Create an npm access token:

npm token create

2. Add the token to GitHub:

   • Go to your repository's Settings
   • Navigate to Secrets and variables > Actions
   • Create a new secret named NPM_TOKEN
   • Paste your npm token as the value

3. Create a new release on GitHub:

   • Go to Releases > Draft a new release
   • Choose the tag created by npm version
   • Add release notes
   • Publish the release

The GitHub Actions workflow will automatically publish to npm when the release is created.

Error Handling

The tool provides clear error messages for common issues:

• Missing .NET SDK installation
• Invalid package IDs
• Non-existent versions
• Tool execution failures

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Jon Dick (redth)