# Guide to Using the relottie CLI Learn how to use the relottie-cli to inspect and process Lottie files from your terminal. Covers installation, usage, options, plugins, configuration files, and ignoring files. # Guide: Using the relottie CLI `relottie` provides a command-line interface (CLI) tool, **`@lottiefiles/relottie-cli`**, allowing you to inspect and process Lottie files directly from your terminal or within scripts. This is useful for batch processing, integrating relottie into build systems, or performing quick checks without writing a full Node.js script. ## Installation Install the CLI globally or locally within your project: ```bash # Global installation npm install -g @lottiefiles/relottie-cli # Local installation (recommended for projects) npm install --save-dev @lottiefiles/relottie-cli # or yarn add --dev @lottiefiles/relottie-cli ``` If installed locally, you'll typically run it via `npx relottie ...` or add it to your `package.json` scripts. ## Basic Usage The basic syntax involves providing input files (or globs) and specifying an output location if needed. ```bash # Process a single file, output to stdout relottie input.json # Process a single file, write to output.json relottie input.json --output output.json # or shorthand relottie input.json -o output.json # Process multiple files using a glob, rewrite them in place # Note: Use quotes around globs to prevent shell expansion relottie "src/**/*.json" -o # Use stdin and stdout (piping) cat input.json | relottie > output.json ``` ## Command-Line Options The CLI offers various options to control processing. For the definitive list, run `relottie --help`. Many of these options are powered by the underlying [`unified-args`](https://github.com/unifiedjs/unified-args#cli) library. - **`-h, --help`**: Output usage information. - **`-v, --version`**: Output version number. - **`-o, --output [path]`**: Specify output location. - If `path` is a directory, files are written to that directory. - If `path` is omitted (just `-o`), files are overwritten in place. - If the flag is omitted entirely, output goes to stdout. - **`-u, --use `**: Use a plugin. Specify the plugin name or path. Can be used multiple times. Plugins are resolved relative to the current directory or as node modules. - **`-w, --watch`**: Watch input files for changes and reprocess automatically. - **`-r, --rc-path `**: Specify the path to a configuration file (e.g., `.relottierc.js`). Disables the automatic search for config files. - **`-i, --ignore-path `**: Specify the path to an ignore file (like `.relottieignore`). Disables the automatic search for ignore files. - **`-s, --setting `**: Specify processor settings (e.g., `-s parse.position=false`). - **`-e, --ext `**: Specify file extensions to process when searching directories (default includes `.json`). - **`-t, --tree`**: Treat both input and output as syntax trees (LAST JSON format). Equivalent to `--tree-in --tree-out`. - **`--tree-in`**: Specify that the input should be parsed as a LAST syntax tree. - **`--tree-out`**: Output the result as a LAST syntax tree (JSON format) instead of Lottie JSON. - **`--inspect`**: Output a detailed, formatted inspection of the resulting LAST syntax tree. - **`--report `**: Specify a custom reporter for output messages. - **`--file-path `**: Specify path to process input as (useful when reading from stdin). - **`--ignore-pattern `**: Specify glob patterns for files/folders to ignore. - **`--silently-ignore`**: Do not fail if explicitly given files are ignored. - **`--[no-]stdout`**: Force (`--stdout`) or disable (`--no-stdout`) writing to stdout. - **`--[no-]color`**: Force (`--color`) or disable (`--no-color`) color in reports. - **`--[no-]config`**: Disable (`--no-config`) or enable (`--config`) searching for configuration files. - **`--[no-]ignore`**: Disable (`--no-ignore`) or enable (`--ignore`) searching for ignore files. - **`-q, --quiet`**: Output only warnings and errors. - **`-S, --silent`**: Output only errors. - **`-f, --frail`**: Exit with status code 1 if warnings occur. ## Using Plugins with the CLI You can activate plugins directly from the command line using the `--use` or `-u` flag. You might need to install the plugin package first (`npm install some-relottie-plugin`). ```bash # Install a metadata plugin (example) npm install @lottiefiles/relottie-metadata # Use the metadata plugin via CLI # (Note: Metadata is usually attached to vfile.data, # so direct CLI output might not show it without specific reporters/plugins) relottie input.json --use @lottiefiles/relottie-metadata # Using a hypothetical custom plugin named 'my-local-plugin.js' relottie input.json -u ./my-local-plugin.js -o output.json ``` Often, it's more convenient to manage plugins using configuration files. ## Configuration Files Instead of passing options via the command line, `relottie-cli` automatically searches for and uses configuration files. This is the recommended way to manage plugins and settings for a project. ### Search Order When processing a file, `relottie-cli` searches upwards from the file's directory for the first configuration file it finds, in this order of precedence: 1. `.relottierc` (JSON) 2. `.relottierc.json` (JSON - **Caution:** Avoid if possible, as Lottie files are also `.json`) 3. `.relottierc.cjs` (CommonJS) 4. `.relottierc.mjs` (ES Module) 5. `.relottierc.js` (Auto-detects CJS/ESM based on `package.json` `type` field) 6. `.relottierc.yaml` (YAML) 7. `.relottierc.yml` (YAML) 8. `package.json` (using a `relottieConfig` field) ### Configuration Examples **1. Using `package.json` (`relottieConfig`):** ```json // package.json { "name": "my-lottie-project", // ... other fields "relottieConfig": { "settings": { "parse": { "position": false // Example parser option } }, "plugins": [ "@lottiefiles/relottie-metadata", "./path/to/my-custom-plugin.js" // Add other plugins here ] } } ``` _(Remember: No comments allowed in actual `package.json` files)_ **2. Using `.relottierc.js` (ES Module example):** ```javascript // .relottierc.js import relottieMetadata from "@lottiefiles/relottie-metadata"; import myCustomPlugin from "./path/to/my-custom-plugin.js"; const relottieConfig = { settings: { parse: { position: false, }, }, plugins: [relottieMetadata, myCustomPlugin], }; export default relottieConfig; ``` **3. Using `.relottierc.yml` (YAML example):** ```yaml # .relottierc.yml settings: parse: position: false plugins: - "@lottiefiles/relottie-metadata" - "./path/to/my-custom-plugin.js" ``` ## Ignoring Files (`.relottieignore`) Similar to `.gitignore`, you can create a `.relottieignore` file in your project root or subdirectories to specify files or patterns that `relottie-cli` should ignore during processing. ## Example Workflow: Generate LAST AST from Lottie JSON Let's set up an npm script to convert all Lottie files in a `lottie-src` directory to their LAST representation in an `lottie-ast` directory. 1. **Install CLI:** `npm install --save-dev @lottiefiles/relottie-cli` 2. **Create Lottie source file:** `lottie-src/animation.json` 3. **Configure `package.json`:** ```json { "name": "last-generator", "scripts": { "generate:last": "relottie \"lottie-src/**/*.json\" --tree-out --output lottie-ast --ext json" }, "devDependencies": { "@lottiefiles/relottie-cli": "^..." }, "relottieConfig": { "settings": { "parse": { "position": false } // Optional: exclude position data } } } ``` 4. **Run the script:** `npm run generate:last` This will process `lottie-src/animation.json`, apply any configuration from `relottieConfig`, and output the resulting LAST tree as `lottie-ast/animation.json` because of the `--tree-out` flag. ## Next Steps - Explore specific plugins you can use from the command line in the [API Reference section](/docs/tools/relottie/api). - Consult the [`unified-args` documentation](https://github.com/unifiedjs/unified-args#cli) for more details on the CLI argument parsing.