Creating Packages

Packages are quite simply a folder that contains some code and a box.json file. A package can be a simple CFC, a self-contained library, or even an entire application. ColdBox and ContentBox modules also make great "smart" packages.

Remember, packages aren't just the things you install into your application, but your application is a package too! That's why when you install something in your app, we'll create a /box.json if it doesn't exist to start tracking your dependencies.

Your box.json file describes your package, dependencies, and how to install it. To turn a boring folder into a sweet package just run the init command in the root of the folder.

init name="My Package" version="1.0.0"

That's it. Your folder now has extra meta data in the box.json file that describes it a way that is meaningful to ForgeBox and CommandBox.

Distribution

When making a package available on ForgeBox, each version of that package has its own location. Most download locations point to a zip file, that when extracted, contains a folder with a box.json in it. The box.json designates the root of the package. However, the location property of your box.json can be any valid endpoint ID. An example would be:

{
  "name":"my project",
  "slug":"my-project",
  "version":"1.0.0",
  "location":"githubUser/repoName#v1.0.0"
}

In that case, the location for version 1.0.0 of this package is the v1.0.0 tag in that GitHub repository.

If your project is stored in GitHub, an easy approach is simply to treat the root of the repository as the root of the package. That is where your box.json will live. This also means you can use GitHub's automatic zip download URL as your ForgeBox URL since it returns a zip file containing your repo contents in a folder.

Ex: https://github.com/bdw429s/Weather-Lookup-By-IP/archive/master.zip

If you choose to structure your repo differently, no problem. Just use a build process that generates a zip file in that format and make that zip publicly available for ForgeBox's download URL.

Private Packages

ForgeBox supports private packages. Private packages are only visible to the user who created it.

Private packages will be a paid feature for ForgeBox Pro subscribers, though the feature is currently available to all users for free.

To create a private package, pass the private flag to the package init command.

Note: Creating private packages requires you to be logged in to ForgeBox

CommandBox:my-package> package init slug=my-package --private
- Set name = My Package
- Set slug = my-package@username
- Set version = 0.0.0
- Set private = true
- Set shortDescription = A sweet package
- Set ignore = ["**/.*","test","tests"]
Package Initialized & Created /Users/username/code/sandbox/my-package/box.json

Storing Package Binaries on ForgeBox

ForgeBox can store the binaries for your packages in the ForgeBox Cloud. This provides you with an easy way to store multiple versions of your package distributed across the globe. To utilize ForgeBox Storage, simply set forgeboxStorage as the value of your package's location.

CommandBox:my-package> package set location=forgeboxStorage

When you publish a package, CommandBox will automatically zip up your package and send it to ForgeBox.

Publishing to ForgeBox from start to finish

Below is an example of the commands that would take you from scratch to a published package:

# Create user (first time only)
CommandBox> forgebox register username password [e-mail] firstName lastName
CommandBox> forgebox login username password

# Create package/git repo
CommandBox> mkdir mypackage --cd
CommandBox> !git init
CommandBox> package init slug=my-package type=modules location=gitUser/my-package
CommandBox> bump --minor message="Initial Commit"

# Publish it
CommandBox> !git remote add origin <git url>
CommandBox> !git push
CommandBox> publish

# Viewable and installable by the world!
CommandBox> forgebox show my-package
CommandBox> install my-package