jdm-plugin-template

A starter template for building jdm-cli plugins. This repo is also self-bootstrapping — the create command clones this very repo into a new project, giving contributors a clean slate to start from.

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What is this?

jdm-plugin-template is the official base template for all jdm-cli plugins. It ships with a working plugin structure, a set of standard commands (create, dev, build, clean, install), shared logging helpers, and a version compatibility system — so you spend time building your plugin, not scaffolding it.

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Quick Start

Use this template to scaffold a new plugin

# Install the CLI (if you haven't already)
npm install -g jdm-cli
jdm-cli add plugin-template

# Scaffold a new plugin project
jdm-cli plugin-template create

# Then follow the prompts, or use flags:
jdm-cli plugin-template create --name my-plugin
jdm-cli plugin-template create --name my-plugin --install

This will:

1. Clone this repo into a folder named my-plugin (or . for current dir)
2. Strip .git so it's a clean project — not a fork
3. Optionally run npm install for you

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Project Structure

jdm-plugin-template/
├── lib/
│   ├── index.js          # Entry point — namespace, command map, dispatcher
│   ├── config.js         # Config read/write and compatibility guard
│   ├── compat.js         # Plugin version + per-command compatibility ranges
│   ├── logger.js         # Shared logging helpers (ok, fail, warn, info, step, header)
│   └── commands/
│       ├── create.js     # Scaffold a new project (clones this repo)
│       ├── dev.js        # Start development environment
│       ├── build.js      # Compile / package the project
│       ├── clean.js      # Remove build artifacts
│       └── install.js    # Install dependencies
├── package.json
└── README.md

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Built-in Commands

Command	Description	Key Flags
create	Scaffold a new project from this template	--name <name>, --install
dev	Start development environment	(wire up your own processes)
build	Compile / package the project	--frontend, --backend, --full
clean	Remove build artifacts	--dry (preview without deleting)
install	Install dependencies	(none)

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Contributing / Building Your Own Plugin

This repo is the starting point. Here's how to get going:

1. Scaffold a copy

jdm-cli plugin-template create --name my-plugin --install
cd my-plugin

Or clone manually:

git clone https://github.com/JDM-Github/jdm-plugin-template my-plugin
cd my-plugin
rm -rf .git
npm install

2. Set your namespace

In three places, replace "plugin-template" with your plugin's name:

File	What to change
lib/index.js	export const namespace = "plugin-template"
lib/config.js	const PLUGIN_NAME = "plugin-template"
lib/logger.js	const ns = "plugin-template" inside header()
package.json	"name", "jdmPlugin.namespace", "jdmPlugin.description"

3. Add your commands

1. Create lib/commands/my-command.js with a default export
2. Import it in lib/index.js and add it to the commands map
3. If it needs interactive prompts (ask(rl, ...)), add the name to INTERACTIVE_COMMANDS
4. Add it to showDesign() for the help screen
5. Add it to the jdmPlugin.commands array in package.json

4. Wire up dev and build

Both files have clearly marked // TODO blocks — drop in your actual build commands, server launchers, or watchers there. Cross-platform terminal helpers (Windows Terminal, CMD, gnome-terminal, osascript) are already included in dev.js.

5. Update compatibility (when needed)

When you make breaking changes to the template structure, bump COMPAT in lib/compat.js so existing projects get a clear error instead of a silent failure:

// lib/compat.js
export const pluginVersion = "1.1.0";

export const COMPAT = {
    global: ">=1.1.0",  // bump when ALL commands need a newer project
    commands: {
        build: ">=1.1.0",  // or target a specific command
    },
};

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Logger Helpers

All commands share the same logging helpers from lib/logger.js:

import { ok, fail, warn, info, step, header, divider } from "../logger.js";

ok(chalk, "Thing worked");        //  ✔  Thing worked  (green)
fail(chalk, "Thing broke");       //  ✖  Thing broke   (red)
warn(chalk, "Watch out");         //  ⚠  Watch out     (yellow)
info(chalk, "Just so you know");  //  ·  Just so you know (gray)

step(chalk, 1, 3, "Doing X");     // [1/3]  Doing X
header(chalk, "my-command");      // jdm / plugin-template / my-command
divider(chalk);                   // ─────────────────────────────────────

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Config System

Every scaffolded project gets a .jdm-config.json file. This allows commands to verify they're running inside a compatible project:

{
  "plugin-template": {
    "pluginVersion": "1.0.0",
    "createdAt": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
    "projectName": "my-plugin"
  }
}

Use checkCompat(chalk, "command-name") at the top of any command that requires a valid project context. It will warn if the config is missing, or error with a helpful message if the version is out of range.

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Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Git (for the create command)
• jdm-cli installed globally

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License

MIT — JDM-Github