Run multiple commands ​

In this tutorial we will write a script that runs multiple commands in sequence.

More specifically, just with one click, our script will:

1. Initialize a new NPM project
2. Install the express NPM package (a web server library)
3. Write a JavaScript code for the web server
4. Spin up the express server

100% automatically.

Let's try creating an example.

Create a folder named helloserver and create a file named index.json:

~/pinokio
  /api
    /helloworld
      index.json
    /helloserver
      index.json
  /bin

The index.json should look like this:

{
  "run": [{
    "method": "shell.run",
    "params": {
      "message": "mkdir engine"
    }
  }, {
    "method": "shell.run",
    "params": {
      "message": "npm init -y",
      "path": "engine"
    }
  }, {
    "method": "shell.run",
    "params": {
      "message": "npm install express",
      "path": "engine"
    }
  }, {
    "method": "fs.write",
    "params": {
      "path": "engine/index.js",
      "text": [
        "const express = require('express');",
        "const app = express();",
        "app.get('/', function (req, res) {",
        "  res.send('<h1>Hello World</h1>');",
        "});",
        "console.log('starting server')",
        "app.listen(3000, () => { console.log ('server started') });"
      ],
      "join": "\n"
    }
  }, {
    "method": "shell.run",
    "params": {
      "message": "node index",
      "path": "engine"
    }
  }]
}

1. The first step runs mkdir helloserver to create a folder named helloserver
2. The second step runs npm init -y to initialize an NPM project
3. The third step runs npm install express to install the express.js package, which we will use to build a super simple web server.
4. The fourth step uses an API called fs.write to write lines to the file named helloserver/index.js
5. The final step runs node index to start the express server code we just wrote through the fs.write API.

At this point your helloserver project folder will look something like this:

~/pinokio
  /api
    /helloworld
      index.json
    /helloserver
      index.json
      /engine
        package.json
        index.js
        /node_modules
  /bin

Now go to http://localhost:3000 and you will see the web server is up and displaying "Hello World".