Building Command Line Applications in Node.js

By Paul O'Fallon
Most of us use command line applications in our jobs every day. This course will introduce you to the basics of building a CLI in Node.js, including managing configuration, interacting with the user, and distributing your finished product.
Course info
Level
Intermediate
Updated
Jun 5, 2018
Duration
3h 2m
Table of contents
Setting up Your CLI Project
A Brief Overview of Command Line Applications 5m Demo: Registering Your Sample Application with Twitter 4m What Makes a Node.js Project a Command Line Application? 1m Demo: Initializing Your Node.js Project 8m Summary 1m
Managing Configuration
A Brief Overview of Configuration Information 7m Demo: Storing the Twitter API Key and Secret in Your Project 9m Mocking and Testing Command Line Applications 1m Demo: Adding Tests to Your Sample Project 6m Handling Sensitive Configuration Data 1m Demo: Adding Your Twitter API Secret to the Keychain 5m Summary 1m
Interacting with the User
CLI Option and Command Patterns 7m Demo: Adding Commands to Your Project, with Test Coverage 13m Implementing Twitter's PIN-based OAuth 5m Demo: Adding Another Command 8m Summary 2m Demo: Adding Another Command, Part 2 9m Demo: Using the Node Debugger 3m
Interacting with the Environment
Handling Errors and Setting an Exit Status 4m Demo: Add Error Handling and Proper Exit Statuses 12m A Pattern for Environment Variable Overrides 3m Demo: Implementing Environment Overrides for Credentials 3m File Descriptors and Dealing with Unbounded Input 5m Demo: Lookup Users via Standard In or Command Line 14m Demo: Piping from Your CLI to JQ and Back Again 5m Future Integration Opportunities and Summary 2m
Packaging and Distribution
Scoped Packages, Publishing to npm, and Using npx 3m Summary 1m Adding Update Notifications, Travis CI Automation 2m Demo: Publishing Your CLI to npm, Running It with npx 4m Creating a Docker Image of Your Command Line Application 1m Demo: Automating Your npm Publish with GitHub and Travis CI 10m Demo: Creating a Docker Image, Updating Your Travis Automation 11m
Course Overview
Course Overview 1m
Description
Course info
Level
Intermediate
Updated
Jun 5, 2018
Duration
3h 2m
Description

Maybe your team has a process you'd like to automate, or systems you'd like to integrate. In this course, Building Command Line Applications in Node.js, you’ll learn how to leverage the command line to create reusable applications for yourself, your team, or the world. First, you’ll learn how to effectively manage an application's configuration. Next, you’ll explore ways to interact with the user. Finally, you’ll discover how to package and distribute your application. When you’re finished with this course, you’ll have a foundational knowledge of building a Node.js CLI that will prove invaluable as you look to optimize and operationalize the work of yourself or your team.

About the author
Paul O'Fallon
About the author

An Enterprise Architect by day and an open-source contributor by night, Paul has more than 19 years in the Information Technology industry spanning academic, start-up and enterprise environments.

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Section Introduction Transcripts
Section Introduction Transcripts

Course Overview
Hi everyone, my name is Paul O'Fallan, and welcome to my course Building Command Line Applications in Node. js. I've been working in Node for more than 8 years and I'm really excited to spend some time focusing on command line applications. Most of us use command line applications every day, some of which have likely been written in Node. js. In this course, we're going to demystify the process of building a CLI in Node. We'll start by covering how to manage configuration information, including storing sensitive data. We'll then move to interacting with the user. We'll wrap up by publishing a finished product to both npm and Docker Hub. By the end of this course, you should have a good foundation for building your own Node. js-based CLI. Before beginning this course, you should be familiar with Node and JavaScript in general. I hope you'll join me on this journey to learn how to create your own CLI with the Building Command Line Applications in Node. js course at Pluralsight.

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