packo

An npm package scaffolding tool

GitHub repository: https://github.com/opreaadrian/packo

This project emerged out of the need to create and recreate the folder structure necessary to create a package that I could easily install from a private NPM instance. I took a look at the most frequently downloaded npm packages and observed their folder structure. Based on this research, I found a common pattern amongst them, a pattern that forms the base of this tool.

Installation

$ npm install -g packo
$ packo

  Usage: packo [cmd] options


  Commands:

    create [package]  Create a package named [package]. Current directory name is used by default.
    module [name]     Create the "lib/[name].js" module. Also creates "test/[name]_spec.js" for the module.
    check [module]    Check for vulnerabilities in the current module's dependencies -- uses npm-shrinkwrap.json.

  Options:

    -h, --help     output usage information
    -V, --version  output the version number
    -b, --bin      Add bin/ folder and executable file for package.

  Examples:
    $ packo create                              Scaffolds an npm package in the current directory.
    $ packo create awesome-package               Scaffolds the "awesome-package" package.
    $ packo create awesome-package --bin         Adds "bin/" dir for package that expose a CLI.
    $ packo module dataReader                    Creates "lib/dataReader.js" and "test/dataReader_spec.js"
    $ packo check                               Validates npm-shrinkwrap.json against the Node Security Project API
    $ packo check semver@4.2.0                  Checks the semver module, version 4.2.2 for vulnerabilities against the Node Security Project API
    $ packo check semver                        Checks the latest version of the semver module.

Caution

$ packo create awesome-package
The directory "awesome-package" already exists, do you want to overwrite?(y/n):

By answering with "y" or "Y", you acknowledge the fact that everything will be deleted from the "awesome-package" directory.

Same holds true when running packo create with no [name] argument, as the tool treats the current directory as the pacakge's root, and scaffolds the structure inside it.

$ mkdir awesome-package && cd awesome-package
$ packo create
The directory "awesome-package" already exists, do you want to overwrite?(y/n):

Folder structure

The tool will generate a folder structure similar to the one below:

    package_folder/
        .editorconfig
        .jshintrc
        .gitignore
        .gitattributes
        bin/
        doc/
        examples/
        lib/
        test/
        package.json

Future plans

• [WIP] Add tests -- the reason why tests are not available is because I needed the tool fast, and did not have the time to apply a test-driven methodology.
• [WIP] Add continuous integration -- same answer as above.
• [ONGOING] Make the tool more flexible in terms of options.
• [WIP] Create a friendlier, more coloured CLI.
• [ONGOING] Improve code quality.
• [DONE] Enable the possibility to add library modules, to the lib/ folder via CLI, and also generate the appropriate spec file withing the test/ directory.
• [WIP] Add Gulp/Grunt workflows -- probably Gulp.

Contributing

Just fork the repo, make your changes, create a pull request. I would have loved to say fork->change->run tests->submit pull request, so if anyone can help with tests, feel free to do that.

Final thoughts

This is work in progress, so if there are any suggestions, get in touch via the repository's issues panel on GitHub , or via Twitter -- @opreaadrian.