jaq v1.0.0

Jaq

Minimalist scaffolding for quick, MEAN apps.

Installation

Use jaq from the command line, by installing it globally like so:

sudo npm install -g jaq

Overview

Jaq is a node-based tool to quickly and easily create blank project templates, and then create instances of those projects with a single command. Setup your project "blueprint" however you like, and then Jaq will do all the work of setting up new projects using the given "blueprint".

Basics

Call an existing blueprint on the command line:

jaq <name-of-blueprint> [<blueprint-required-arg>...]

...and Jaq will build an empty project from your template in the current working directory.

For example, Jaq comes with an "angular" and "basic" blueprint to start. It requires name and author parameters. Pass them with the -n and -a arguments, respectively.

jaq frontend -n 'MyApp' -a 'Dominic Cobb <dom@cobolengineering.com>'

First, Jaq checks its /blueprints directory for a match to your specified blueprint, which in this case is 'frontend'. It require()s a file inside called jaq.config.js, which contains the specific configuration for Jaq to recreate the project.

Here's an example jaq.config.js

module.exports = {
  name: 'example-blueprint',
  description: 'An example app with simple website setup.',
  require: ['name', 'author'],
  mkdir: ['js', 'html', 'css', 'assets/photos'],
  copy: [
    'index.html',
    'bower.json',
    'gulpfile.js',
    'package.json',
    'js/myScript.js',
    'css/stylesheet.css'
  ],
  bower: {
    deps: ['jquery'],
    devDeps: ['compass']
  },
  npm: {
    deps: ['asdf']
  },
  commands: ['gulp']
}

If the required paramaters have been passed, Jaq starts with creating the directories specified in mkdir. Nested folders here are allowed, and do not require that parent folders be created beforehand (in the above example, the 'assets' folder is created automatically and populated with a 'photos' folder).

Next, Jaq copies the files specified in copy from the blueprint's directory to your working directory, overwriting any existing files of the same name. This is where you may make use of the parameters required in your configuration. The file contents of all copied files are processed to resolve parameterized variables using ERB syntax. For example, your index.html file might include the following line:

<title><%= name %></title>

If you pass -n Supercool when you call Jaq, "Supercool" will be used as the name, and replace all instances of <%= name %> in your code. This will result in the following line in your new project's index.html file:

<title>Supercool</title>

Next, Jaq installs the necessary NPM Dependencies and Development Dependencies, as specified in the configuration's npm.deps and npm.devDeps arrays. Note: a package.json file is not automatically created in the new directory, so make sure one is created before using Jaq, or, better yet, include one as part of the copy process above. Then, this process is repeated for Bower, using bower.deps and bower.devDeps.

Finally, any commands listed in the commands array are executed in their given order.