CLI

comline drives the workflow around schemas: scaffold, validate, freeze versions, compare them, generate code. This page is the quick reference; the canonical long-form guide — output format, watch mode, completions, editor integration — lives with the CLI at ComlineProject/cli → docs/cli.md. comline <cmd> --help is always authoritative.

Install

Not published to crates.io yet — build from source:

git clone https://github.com/ComlineProject/cli
cd cli
cargo install --path .

Pipeline

parse → resolve imports → validate → (freeze into .comline/) → (generate code)

check stops after validate. build adds the freeze step and records a version. generate also stops after validate — it does not freeze — then writes code. diff reads two frozen versions and reports what changed.

Commands

Command	What it does
`comline new <name> [--git]`	Scaffold `<name>/` with `config.idp`, `comline.toml`, `src/main.ids`, `.gitignore`. `--git` also runs `git init`.
`comline check`	Parse, resolve and validate. No `.comline/` write, no version bump — safe for editors, hooks, CI.
`comline build [--release] [--watch]`	Compile, validate, freeze a new immutable version into `.comline/`; print the changelog and the bump. `--release` is currently a no-op.
`comline generate [--target <lang>] [--out <dir>] [--layout <tpl>] [--mode <m>] [--watch]`	Validate (no freeze), then write generated code. Location/layout from `comline.toml`; targets from there or `config.idp`.
`comline diff <old> [<new>]`	Show schema changes between two built versions. Each argument is a version (`0.2.0`), a commit hash (4+ chars), or `HEAD` (`<new>` default).
`comline clean [--dry-run]`	Remove generated code (the `generate` output root or files). Never touches `.comline/`.
`comline reset [--force] [--dry-run]`	Destructive. Delete `.comline/` — the whole version history, no undo — and generated code. Next `build` starts over at `0.0.1`. On a terminal it shows how many versions will be lost and makes you type `reset`; without a terminal it refuses (exit `2`) unless `--force`.
`comline completions <shell>`	Print a completion script to stdout. `bash` `zsh` `fish` `powershell` `elvish`.

--out / --layout / --mode override one target and need --target when several are configured. COMLINE_GENERATE_OUT / _LAYOUT / _MODE do the same from the environment, for every target. Today rust is the only generator and code the only mode.

Global flags

Flag	Effect
`-p`, `--path <DIR>`	Run against `<DIR>` instead of the current directory.
`-v` / `-vv` / `-vvv`	Raise log verbosity (info / debug / trace) for `comline-core` diagnostics.
`-q`, `--quiet`	Only errors. Conflicts with `-v`.
`--plain`	No color, symbols, emoji or spinner — for logs and CI.

RUST_LOG overrides the verbosity flags. NO_COLOR strips color. stdout is reserved for machine output (only completions writes there); everything else goes to stderr.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	success
`1`	ran but failed — invalid schema, unresolved `diff` argument, generator or filesystem error
`2`	precondition not met — not a Comline project, nothing built yet, or `reset` not confirmed (also `clap` usage errors)

Versioning

build bumps the package version automatically by the largest schema change since the last build. See Versioning rules.