Write a Bash Function to Create a gruntfile.js for your project

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bash-scripting/bash-function-create-gruntfile.js.md
Jan 01, 0001
Bash Scripting
#workflow

Here is how it works

Everyt time i type gruntfile in the Terminal, it creates a gruntfile.js for me in the folder i am in. The resulting gruntfile.js has the following template code:

module.exports = function(grunt) {
  grunt.initConfig({
    pkg: grunt.file.readJSON('package.json'),

    // CONFIG

    });

    // PLUGINS
    grunt.loadNpmTasks('');

    // TASKS
    grunt.registerTask('default', ['', '']);
};

I can now add my Grunt config to it.

What i have done is create a function gruntfile for me and saved in my .bash_profile so it is available to me anywhere in the Terminal.

Here is the code

color_green='\033[92m' 
color_red='\033[91m' 
color_off='\033[0m'

gruntfile() {
  if [ -e "gruntfile.js" ] ; then
    echo -e "${color_red}gruntfile.js already exists${color_off}"

    if [ -e "Gruntfile.js" ] ; then
      echo -e "${color_red}Gruntfile.js already exists${color_off}"
    fi

  else
  echo -e "
    module.exports = function(grunt) {
      grunt.initConfig({
        pkg: grunt.file.readJSON('package.json'),

        // CONFIG

        });

        // PLUGINS
        grunt.loadNpmTasks('');

        // TASKS
        grunt.registerTask('default', ['', '']);
    };
  " >> gruntfile.js

  echo -e "${color_green}Gruntfile has been created${color_off}"
  fi
}

Copy this code to the bottom of your .bash_profile.

Quit and re-open the Terminal after you are done editing. Alternatively, you can also run source .bash_profile to load the changes you just made.

Notes

  • The echo command must be run with the -e flag to execute it as a command instead of just printing it out to the terminal.
  • Also, echo only seems to work if you wrap the statement in double quotes " ". It will not work with single quotes ' '
  • Since there is no simple way of checking case-insensitively if a file exists, i have added an if statement twice to check for both gruntfile.js and Gruntfile.js
  • I have added color coding so that it’ll show a red response if the file already exists and a green one if a file was succesfully created after running the function.

If this all seems too technical, you can just create a sublime text snippet for Grunt.

The purpose of writing this is to show the possibilities of what you can do with bash scripts and .bash_profile. For example, you can set up project templates and create your whole directory structure by typing new project. You can add a license to your project license files by typing license. And much more.

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