Customizing generator options

Adding a TypeScript schema

To create a TypeScript schema to use in your generator function, define a TypeScript file next to your schema.json named schema.ts. Inside the schema.ts, define an interface to match the properties in your schema.json file, and whether they are required.

export interface GeneratorOptions { name: string; type?: string; }

Import the TypeScript schema into your generator file and replace the any in your generator function with the interface.

import { Tree, formatFiles, installPackagesTask } from '@nrwl/devkit'; import { libraryGenerator } from '@nrwl/workspace/generators'; export default async function (tree: Tree, schema: GeneratorOptions) { await libraryGenerator(tree, { name: `${schema.name}-${schema.type || ''}` }); await formatFiles(tree); return () => { installPackagesTask(tree); }; }

Adding static options

Static options for a generator don't prompt the user for input. To add a static option, define a key in the schema.json file with the option name, and define an object with its type, description, and optional default value.

{ "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/schema", "id": "my-generator", "type": "object", "properties": { "name": { "type": "string", "description": "Library name", "$default": { "$source": "argv", "index": 0 } }, "type": { "type": "string", "description": "Provide the library type, such as 'data-access' or 'state'" } }, "required": ["name"] }

If you run the generator without providing a value for the type, it is not included in the generated name of the library.

Adding dynamic prompts

Dynamic options can prompt the user to select from a list of options. To define a prompt, add a x-prompt property to the option object, set the type to list, and define an items array for the choices.

{ "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/schema", "id": "my-generator", "type": "object", "properties": { "name": { "type": "string", "description": "Library name", "$default": { "$source": "argv", "index": 0 } }, "type": { "type": "string", "description": "Provide the library type", "x-prompt": { "message": "Which type of library would you like to generate?", "type": "list", "items": [ { "value": "data-access", "label": "Data Access" }, { "value": "feature", "label": "Feature" }, { "value": "state", "label": "State Management" } ] } } }, "required": ["name"] }

Running the generator without providing a value for the type will prompt the user to make a selection.

All configurable schema options

Properties tagged with ⚠️ are required. Others are optional.

Schema

{ "properties": { "name": {} // see Properties }, "required": [], "description": "", "definitions": {}, // same as "properties" "additionalProperties": false }

⚠️ properties

The properties of a generator. Properties are listed by name:

{ "properties_name": { // properties configuration } }

The available options of the properties' configuration can be seen in the Properties section.

required

The property keys that are required. Example:

{ "properties": { "name": { "type": "string" }, "type": { "type": "string" } }, "required": ["name"] }

In this example, the property name is required, while the property type is optional. You can define your TypeScript schema like this:

interface Schema { name: string; // required type?: string; // optional }

description

The description of your schema for users to understand what they can do with the generator.

Example: A exception class generator.

definitions

Define an auxiliary schema in order to be reused and combined later on. Examples:

{ "$id": "https://example.com/schemas/customer", "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema", "type": "object", "properties": { "first_name": { "type": "string" }, "last_name": { "type": "string" }, "shipping_address": { "$ref": "/schemas/address" }, "billing_address": { "$ref": "/schemas/address" } }, "required": [ "first_name", "last_name", "shipping_address", "billing_address" ], "$defs": { "address": { "$id": "/schemas/address", "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#", "type": "object", "properties": { "street_address": { "type": "string" }, "city": { "type": "string" }, "state": { "$ref": "#/definitions/state" } }, "required": ["street_address", "city", "state"], "definitions": { "state": { "enum": ["CA", "NY", "... etc ..."] } } } } }

In this example, we defined the state in the definitions and reference it later by $ref.

Reference 1: JSON Schema > Definitions & References

Reference 2: Understanding JSON Schema > Extending Recursive Schemas

additionalProperties

Specify whether the additional properties in the input are allowed. Example:

{ "type": "object", "properties": { "number": { "type": "number" }, "street_name": { "type": "string" }, "street_type": { "enum": ["Street", "Avenue", "Boulevard"] } }, "additionalProperties": false }

In this example, this schema only accepts the properties that are explicitly defined in the properties object such like:

{ "number": 1600, "street_name": "Pennsylvania", "street_type": "Avenue" }

Any additional properties will be considered invalid.

{ "number": 1600, "street_name": "Pennsylvania", "street_type": "Avenue", "direction": "NW" }

The above examples are from Understanding JSON schema > Additional Properties. There are more details in that tutorial.

Properties

{ "type": "", "required": [], "enum": [], "properties": {}, "oneOf": [], "anyOf": [], "allOf": [], "items": [], "alias": "", "aliases": [], "description": "", "format": "", "visible": false, "default": "", "$ref": "", "$default": { "$source": "argv", "index": 0 }, "additionalProperties": false, "x-prompt": { "message": "", "type": "", "items": [], "multiselect": false }, "x-deprecated": false, "x-priority": "important" }

Options available in number type:

{ "multipleOf": 5, "minimum": 5, "exclusiveMinimum": 4, "maximum": 200, "exclusiveMaximum": 201 }

Options available in string type:

{ "pattern": "\\d+", "minLength": 10, "maxLength": 100 }

type

The type of the input. Can be one of string, number, bigint, boolean, object or array.

Example:

{ "type": "string", "minLength": "10" }

required

The property keys that are required. Example:

{ "properties": { "a": { "type": "boolean" }, "b": { "type": "boolean" } }, "required": ["a"] }

In this example, the property a is required, while the property b is optional.

enum

Make sure that the value is in the enumeration. Example:

{ "type": "string", "enum": ["foo", "bar"] // valid case: `foo`, `bar` // invalid case: any other string like `hello` }

properties

The sub-properties of a property. Example:

{ "index": { "description": "Configures the generation of the application's HTML index.", "type": "object", "properties": { "input": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "description": "The path of a file to use for the application's generated HTML index." }, "output": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "default": "index.html", "description": "The output path of the application's generated HTML index file. The full provided path will be used and will be considered relative to the application's configured output path." } }, "required": ["input"] } }

In this example, the property index is a object, which accepts two properties: input and output.

oneOf

Only accepts a value that matches one of the condition properties. Example:

{ "sourceMap": { "description": "Output sourcemaps. Use 'hidden' for use with error reporting tools without generating sourcemap comment.", "default": true, "oneOf": [ { "type": "boolean" }, { "type": "string" } ] } }

In this example, sourceMap accepts a value whose type is either boolean or string. Another example:

{ "optimization": { "description": "Enables optimization of the build output.", "oneOf": [ { "type": "object", "properties": { "scripts": { "type": "boolean", "description": "Enables optimization of the scripts output.", "default": true }, "styles": { "type": "boolean", "description": "Enables optimization of the styles output.", "default": true } }, "additionalProperties": false }, { "type": "boolean" } ] } }

optimization accepts either an object that includes scripts and styles properties, or a boolean that switches the optimization on or off.

anyOf

Only accepts a value that matches one of the condition properties. Example:

{ "format": { "type": "string", "description": "ESLint Output formatter (https://eslint.org/docs/user-guide/formatters).", "default": "stylish", "anyOf": [ { "enum": [ "stylish", "compact", "codeframe", "unix", "visualstudio", "table", "checkstyle", "html", "jslint-xml", "json", "json-with-metadata", "junit", "tap" ] }, { "minLength": 1 } ] } }

In this example, format accepts a string listed in the enum property, and/or a string whose minimum length is larger than 1.

allOf

Only accepts a value that matches all the condition properties. Example:

{ "a": { "type": "number", "allOf": [{ "multipleOf": 5 }, { "multipleOf": 3 }] } }

In this example, a only accepts a value that can be divided by 5 and 3.

alias

The alias of this property. Example:

{ "tags": { "type": "string", "description": "Add tags to the project (used for linting)", "alias": "t" }, "directory": { "type": "string", "description": "A directory where the project is placed", "alias": "d" } }

You can pass either --tags or -t to provide the value of the property tag; either --directory or -d to provide the value of the property directory.

aliases

Mostly same as alias, but it can accept multiple aliases. Example:

{ "directory": { "description": "Directory where the generated files are placed.", "type": "string", "aliases": ["dir", "path"] } }

You can pass either --dir, --path or even --directory to provide the value of the property directory.

description

The description for users of your property. Example:

{ "flat": { "description": "Flag to indicate if a directory is created.", "type": "boolean", "default": false } }

format

The format of this property. Available options are: path, html-selector, etc. Example:

{ "prefix": { "type": "string", "format": "html-selector", "description": "The prefix to apply to generated selectors.", "alias": "p" } }

In this example, the value provided for prefix should be formatted using the html-selector schema.

visible

Indicate whether the property should be visible in the configuration UI. Example:

{ "path": { "format": "path", "visible": false } }

In this example, the path won't be visible in the configuration UI, and will apply a default value.

default

The default value of this property. Example:

{ "linter": { "description": "The tool to use for running lint checks.", "type": "string", "enum": ["eslint", "tslint"], "default": "eslint" } }

In this example, linter will pick eslint when users do not provide the value explicitly.

$ref

Reference to a schema. Examples can be seen in the definitions section.

$default

The default source of this property. The full declaration of $default is:

// with ? - optional // without ? - required // | - or $default?: { $source: 'argv'; index: number } | { $source: 'projectName' };

Example of $source: argv:

{ "name": { "type": "string", "description": "Library name", "$default": { "$source": "argv", "index": 0 }, "x-prompt": "What name would you like to use for the library?", "pattern": "^[a-zA-Z].*$" } }

name will pick the first argument of the command line as the default value.

Example of $source: projectName:

{ "project": { "type": "string", "description": "The name of the project.", "alias": "p", "$default": { "$source": "projectName" }, "x-prompt": "What is the name of the project for the migration?" } }

project will pick the default project name as the default value.

additionalProperties

See the above additionalProperties section.

x-prompt

Prompt and help user to input the value of the property. It can be a string or a object. The full declaration is:

// with ? - optional // without ? - required // | - or 'x-prompt'?: | string | { message: string; type: string; items: any[]; multiselect?: boolean };

The string x-prompt example:

{ "name": { "type": "string", "description": "Library name", "$default": { "$source": "argv", "index": 0 }, "x-prompt": "What is your desired library name?" } }

The object example can be seen at Adding dynamic prompts.

⚠️ x-prompt > message

The prompt message.

Example: Which type of library would you like to generate?

⚠️ x-prompt > type

The type of the prompt.

⚠️ x-prompt > items

The choice of the prompt. The x-prompt.type must be list. The declaration of items is:

// with ? - optional // without ? - required // | - or items?: (string | { name: string; message: string })[];

Example that contains value and label:

{ "style": { "description": "The file extension to be used for style files.", "type": "string", "default": "css", "enum": ["css", "scss", "sass", "less"], "x-prompt": { "message": "Which stylesheet format would you like to use?", "type": "list", "items": [ { "value": "css", "label": "CSS" }, { "value": "scss", "label": "SASS(.scss) [ http://sass-lang.com ]" }, { "value": "sass", "label": "SASS(.sass) [ http://sass-lang.com ]" }, { "value": "less", "label": "LESS [ http://lesscss.org ]" } ] } } }
x-prompt > multiselect

Allow to multi-select in the prompt.

x-deprecated

Indicate whether the property is deprecated. Can be a boolean or a string. The boolean example:

{ "setupFile": { "description": "The name of a setup file used by Jest. (use Jest config file https://jestjs.io/docs/en/configuration#setupfilesafterenv-array)", "type": "string", "x-deprecated": true } }

This indicates that the property setupFile is deprecated without a reason. The string example:

{ "tsSpecConfig": { "type": "string", "description": "The tsconfig file for specs.", "x-deprecated": "Use the `tsconfig` property for `ts-jest` in the e2e project `jest.config.js` file. It will be removed in the next major release." } }

This indicates that users should use the tsconfig property rather than specify this property.

x-priority

Indicates the priority of a property. Can either be important or internal. This will be used to sort the properties on nx.dev, in Nx Console and when calling a generator with --help. important properties are displayed right after required ones while internal properties are shown at the end or hidden.

{ "directory": { "description": "The directory of the new application.", "type": "string", "x-priority": "important" } }

number specific: multipleOf

Make sure that the number can be divided by the specified number. Example:

{ "a": { "type": "number", "multipleOf": 5 } }

In this example, a only accepts the value that can be divided by 5.

number specific: minimum

Make sure that the number is greater than or equal to the specified number.

{ "value": { "type": "number", "minimum": 5 } }

In this example, value only accepts a value that is greater than or equal to 5 (value >= 5).

You can read more at Understanding JSON schema.

number specific: exclusiveMinimum

Make sure that the number is greater than the specified number.

{ "value": { "type": "number", "exclusiveMinimum": 4 } }

In this example, value only accepts a value that is greater than 4 (value > 4).

You can read more at Understanding JSON schema.

number specific: maximum

Make sure that the number is less than or equal to the specified number.

{ "value": { "type": "number", "maximum": 200 } }

In this example, value only accepts a value that is less than or equal to 200 (value <= 200).

You can read more at Understanding JSON schema.

number specific: exclusiveMaximum

Make sure that the number is less than the specified number.

{ "value": { "type": "number", "maximum": 201 } }

In this example, value only accepts a value that is less than 201 (value < 201).

You can read more at Understanding JSON schema.

string specific: pattern

Make sure that the string matches the Regexp pattern.

{ "value": { "type": "string", "pattern": "^\\d+$" } }

In this example, value requires the value to match the ^\\d+$ pattern, which is a regular expression that matches a string that contains only digits.

string specific: minLength

Make sure that the string length is greater than or equal to the specified value.

{ "value": { "type": "string", "minLength": 10 } }

In this example, value requires the value to be at least 10 characters long.

string specific: maxLength

Make sure that the string length is less than or equal to the specified value.

{ "value": { "type": "string", "maxLength": 10 } }

In this example, value requires the value to be at most 10 characters long.

More information

The current configurable options (and its parse method) can be found here. You would need a basic knowledge of TypeScript to read this.

Most examples are referenced from the codebase of Nx. Thanks to everyone who have ever contributed to Nx!