Getting Started with Sindr

Sindr is a modern replacement for make that allows you to create CLI tools using Starlark scripts. It provides a batteries-included set of functions for common development tasks.

Before getting started, make sure you have installed Sindr on your system.

Quick Start

1. Create a sindr.star file in your project root:

# Define CLI metadata
cli(
    name = "my-project",
    usage = "My awesome project CLI"
)

# Define a build command
def build_action(ctx):
    print("Building project...")
    result = shell('go build .')
    if result.success:
        print("Build completed successfully!")
    else:
        print("Build failed:", result.stderr)

command(
    name = "build",
    help = "Build the project",
    action = build_action
)

2. Run your command:

sindr build

Core Concepts

Commands

Define commands using the command() function:

def my_action(ctx):
    print("Hello from", ctx.args.name)

command(
    name = "greet",
    help = "Greet someone",
    action = my_action,
    args = ["name"]
)

Shell Execution

Execute shell commands with the shell() function:

def deploy(ctx):
    result = shell('docker build -t myapp .')
    if result.success:
        shell('docker push myapp')
        print("Deployment successful!")
    else:
        print("Build failed:", result.stderr)

Environment Variables

Load environment variables from .env files:

def setup(ctx):
    dotenv(['.env', '.env.local'])
    shell('echo "Using database: $DATABASE_URL"')

Caching

Cache expensive operations:

def expensive_build(ctx):
    c = cache()
    
    def build_task():
        shell('npm run build')
        print('Build completed')
    
    # Only rebuild if version changed
    if c.with_version(build_task, name='build', version='1.2.3'):
        print('Build executed')
    else:
        print('Build skipped - version unchanged')

Available Functions

Function	Description
cli()	Configure CLI metadata
command()	Define commands
sub_command()	Define nested subcommands
shell()	Execute shell commands
exec()	Execute with specific interpreter
dotenv()	Load environment variables
cache()	Create cache instance
string()	Render templates
start()	Run functions concurrently
wait()	Wait for async operations

Examples

Building and Testing

def test_action(ctx):
    result = shell('go test ./...')
    if not result.success:
        print("Tests failed!")
        return
    
    shell('go build -o myapp .')
    print("Build and test completed successfully!")

command(name="test", action=test_action, help="Run tests and build")

Multi-stage Deployment

sub_command(
    path = ["deploy", "staging"],
    help = "Deploy to staging environment",
    action = lambda ctx: deploy_to_env("staging")
)

sub_command(
    path = ["deploy", "production"],
    help = "Deploy to production environment", 
    action = lambda ctx: deploy_to_env("production")
)

def deploy_to_env(env):
    dotenv([f'.env.{env}'])
    shell(f'docker build -t myapp:{env} .')
    shell(f'docker push myapp:{env}')

Next Steps

• Check the project repository for more examples and documentation
• Explore the available functions and their parameters
• Create your own custom commands for your workflow