CLI reference: make and codegen

The make:* commands write boilerplate Go files into your project. They are global commands: they edit files, format Go with go/format, and never run your code. Back to the command cheat sheet.

Rules that apply to every generator#

Usage

vukem make:<kind> [flags] <Name>

Arguments: exactly one name. It may be BlogPost, blog_post or blog-post. Each place gets the right form: BlogPost for the Go type, blog_post for the file. A usual suffix is dropped: PostController, BillingProvider, SendReportsCommand, PostSeeder, PostPolicy, WelcomeMail, PostPublishedEvent, NotifyListener, SendDigestJob, PostResource, PostFactory, PostsTest.

Common flag

Behaviour shared by all

• Run from the project root: the module path comes from go.mod. Outside a project: no go.mod here: run vukem inside a project.
• Flags may come before or after the name (make:model Post -m).
• Registration edits the Go syntax tree of the registry file (go/parser), adds the entry and its import, and formats the file. Running twice registers once. If you changed the file so the marker cannot be found, the generator still writes its file and prints the line to add by hand.
• A package the first generator creates also gets a doc.go with the package comment. Delete it freely.
• Put a file with the same name as a built-in stub in stubs/ (for example stubs/controller.go.tmpl) to change the output. See custom stubs.
• Environment: none. Only PATH matters, for go mod tidy after some installers.

Errors shared by all

vukem make:controller#

Create a controller struct, its constructor and its actions.

vukem make:controller [flags] <Name>

Without -resource or -api the controller has one Index action. Writes app/controllers/<name>_controller.go. Registers nothing: add the routes in routes/.

vukem make:controller Thing -api

created app/controllers/thing_controller.go

vukem make:model#

Create a model, and optionally the migration, factory and controller around it.

vukem make:model [flags] <Name>

Writes app/models/<name>.go. All destinations are checked first, so a clash writes nothing. Flags are single-dash and do not combine: -m -f -c.

vukem make:model Comment -m -f -c

created app/models/comment.go
created database/migrations/20261024221120_create_comments_table.go
created database/factories/comment_factory.go
created app/controllers/comment_controller.go
updated database/migrations/registry.go

Run again without -force:

error: app/models/comment.go already exists (use --force to overwrite)

vukem make:migration#

Create a timestamped migration and register it in All() of database/migrations/registry.go.

vukem make:migration [flags] <name>

The name picks the body:

The file name uses the UTC time: 20261024221120_add_slug_to_posts_table.go.

vukem make:migration add_slug_to_posts_table

created database/migrations/20261024221120_add_slug_to_posts_table.go
updated database/migrations/registry.go

Then run vukem migrate.

vukem make:middleware#

Create func(http.Handler) http.Handler. Writes app/middleware/<name>.go. Register it yourself with r.Use, group.Use or route.Use.

vukem make:middleware EnsureAdmin

created app/middleware/ensure_admin.go
created app/middleware/doc.go

vukem make:request#

Create a request struct with validation tags. Writes app/requests/<name>.go. Registers nothing.

vukem make:request StorePost

created app/requests/store_post.go

vukem make:command#

Create an app command and register it in Commands() of bootstrap/commands.go. Writes app/commands/<name>.go. The command is named in kebab-case (SendReports becomes send-reports). Rename it to namespace:action when it belongs to a group.

vukem make:command SendReports
vukem send-reports a b

created app/commands/send_reports.go
created app/commands/doc.go
updated bootstrap/commands.go
send-reports ran with [a b]

vukem make:provider#

Create a provider and register it in Providers() of bootstrap/providers.go. Writes app/providers/<name>_provider.go.

vukem make:provider Billing

created app/providers/billing_provider.go
created app/providers/doc.go
updated bootstrap/providers.go

vukem make:resource#

Create an API resource (a JSON transformer) for a model. Writes app/resources/<name>.go. Registers nothing.

vukem make:resource Post

created app/resources/post.go
created app/resources/doc.go

vukem make:factory#

Create a model factory for fake data in tests and seeders. Writes database/factories/<name>_factory.go. Registers nothing.

vukem make:factory Tag

created database/factories/tag_factory.go

vukem make:seeder#

Create a seeder and register it in All() of database/seeders/registry.go.

vukem make:seeder [flags] <Name>

The type is <Name>Seeder: Tag becomes TagSeeder, which you run with vukem db:seed TagSeeder. The generated Seed method returns nil: fill it in.

vukem make:seeder Tag
vukem make:seeder Post -app

created database/seeders/tag_seeder.go
updated database/seeders/registry.go
created database/seeders/post_seeder.go
updated database/seeders/registry.go
add vukem.WithAppSeeders(seeders.AllApp()...) to bootstrap/app.go

With -app, add the WithAppSeeders line to bootstrap/app.go yourself; the command prints it.

vukem make:event#

Create an event type. Writes app/events/<name>.go. Registers nothing.

vukem make:event OrderShipped

created app/events/order_shipped.go

vukem make:listener#

Create an event listener and register it in All() of app/listeners/registry.go.

vukem make:listener [flags] <Name>

-async and -queued are exclusive (usage error: --async and --queued are exclusive, before any file is written). The line added to All():

vukem make:listener NotifyFollowers -event PostPublished -queued

created app/listeners/notify_followers.go
updated app/listeners/registry.go

Without -event:

usage error: --event is required
Run 'vukem list' for the available commands.

vukem make:job#

Create a queued job and register its handler in All() of app/jobs/registry.go. When the registry declares func All(app *vukem.App) the handler gets the app (queue.Handle(HandleSendDigest(app))), otherwise queue.Handle(HandleSendDigest).

vukem make:job SendDigest

created app/jobs/send_digest.go
updated app/jobs/registry.go

vukem make:mail#

Create a mailable and its HTML view. Writes app/mail/<name>.go and resources/views/mail/<name>.html. Registers nothing.

vukem make:mail Welcome

created app/mail/welcome.go
created app/mail/doc.go
created resources/views/mail/welcome.html

vukem make:policy#

Create an authorization policy and register it in All() of app/policies/registry.go, which the first call creates with an empty All(). The policy takes *models.User.

vukem make:policy Post

created app/policies/post_policy.go
created app/policies/doc.go
created app/policies/registry.go
note: the policy takes *models.User, which app/models does not define yet; run vukem install:auth or change the user type
updated app/policies/registry.go

The note: line appears when app/models has no User yet. Run install:auth or change the type.

vukem make:admin-resource#

Create an admin panel resource and its policy for an existing model.

vukem make:admin-resource [flags] <Model>

Needs the admin panel (vukem install:admin) and a type <Model> struct in app/models. Writes app/admin/<model>.go and tests/admin_<model>_test.go; registers the resource in Resources() and the policy in Policies() of app/admin/registry.go. When app/requests declares var <Model>Schema, the resource validates its forms with it.

vukem make:admin-resource Post

For a model that does not exist:

usage error: no models.Nope in app/models (create it with vukem make:model Nope)

created app/admin/post.go
created tests/admin_post_test.go
updated app/admin/registry.go

vukem make:test#

Create a test that uses the fluent test client. Writes tests/<name>_test.go. Registers nothing.

vukem make:test Posts

error: tests/posts_test.go already exists (use --force to overwrite)

The blog starter already ships tests/posts_test.go, so this is the clash you see. Pick another name.

vukem make:proto#

Create a gRPC service definition and the buf files.

vukem make:proto [flags] <Name>

Writes proto/<name>/v1/<name>.proto (package <name>.v1, one Get<Name> RPC), and buf.yaml and buf.gen.yaml when they do not exist. A Service suffix is dropped.

vukem make:proto Blog

created proto/blog/v1/blog.proto
created buf.yaml
created buf.gen.yaml

Next:
  go get -tool google.golang.org/protobuf/cmd/protoc-gen-go@v1.36.12
  go get -tool connectrpc.com/connect/cmd/protoc-gen-connect-go@v1.21.1
  go get github.com/AlexGalhardo/vukem/contrib/grpc
  vukem codegen:rpc     # writes gen/blog/v1 (buf, or protoc when buf is missing)

vukem codegen:rpc#

Generate Go and connect-go code from your .proto files.

vukem codegen:rpc [flags]

Arguments: none.

How it chooses:

1. It refuses to run until protoc-gen-go and protoc-gen-connect-go are tool lines in go.mod.
2. With buf.gen.yaml (and no -protoc): go tool buf generate when buf is a tool of the module, else buf generate from PATH.
3. Otherwise protoc with the plugins resolved by go tool -n, using paths=source_relative.

Environment: PATH (buf or protoc).

vukem codegen:rpc

error: codegen:rpc runs the code generators as Go tools; add them with:
  go get -tool google.golang.org/protobuf/cmd/protoc-gen-go@v1.36.12
  go get -tool connectrpc.com/connect/cmd/protoc-gen-connect-go@v1.21.1

That is the real output on a project that has not added the tools yet. After the two go get -tool lines, the same command writes gen/blog/v1. See gRPC.

Advanced: force protoc and a custom layout

vukem codegen:rpc -protoc -proto api/proto -out internal/gen

Advanced: casing, overwrite and stubs#

A kebab-case name becomes a snake-case file and a Pascal-case type. Running it twice shows the guard, -force bypasses it:

vukem make:controller blog-post -resource
vukem make:controller blog-post -resource
vukem make:controller blog-post -resource -force

created app/controllers/blog_post_controller.go
error: app/controllers/blog_post_controller.go already exists (use --force to overwrite)
created app/controllers/blog_post_controller.go

Two exclusive flags fail before any file is written, with exit code 2:

vukem make:listener A -event E -async -queued

usage error: --async and --queued are exclusive
Run 'vukem list' for the available commands.

To change what a generator writes, copy its stub from internal/cli/stubs in the Vukem repository to stubs/ in your project. A stub has the data fields .Name, .Snake, .Kebab, .Camel, .Plural and .Module, plus a few per generator. An unknown field is an error, not an empty string. The full table is in the overview.