Command Line Interface (CLI)

Most of Charon functionality could be accessed via CLI commands. The application itself uses the getops syntax. You should be familiar with terminal on your OS to fully tap potential of CLI.

Installation

Download and install NET 8+.

Option 1: dotnet tool (recommended)

The easiest way to install is to use the infrastructure provided by the dotnet tool.

# install charon globally
dotnet tool install -g dotnet-charon

# install charon in current working directory
dotnet tool install dotnet-charon --local --create-manifest-if-needed

To update current tool use following commands:

# update global tool
dotnet tool update --global dotnet-charon

# update local tool
dotnet tool update dotnet-charon --local

Option 2: Bootstrap scripts

Alternatively, you can use one of two bootstrap scripts:

RunCharon.bat (Windows)

RunCharon.sh (Linux, MacOS)

Both scripts require the dotnet tool to be included in the system PATH. The scripts handle the installation of the Charon tool and ensure it stays up to date.

mkdir Charon
cd Charon
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gamedevware/charon/main/scripts/bootstrap/RunCharon.bat

.\RunCharon.bat DATA EXPORT --help
#               ^
#      your command goes here

mkdir Charon
cd Charon
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gamedevware/charon/main/scripts/bootstrap/RunCharon.bat

chmod +x ./RunCharon.sh

./RunCharon.sh DATA EXPORT --help
#               ^
#      your command goes here

Command Syntax

Commands have the following syntax:

dotnet charon COMMAND --parameterName <parameter-value>

# parameters can have more than one value.
# Use space to separate values
dotnet charon EXPORT --schemas Item Armor "Project Settings" Quest

# if your value contains a space, put it inside the quotation marks.
# Escape characters and other rules depend on the OS you are running.
dotnet charon "c:\my application\my path.txt"

# some parameters don't require a value (e.g. flag).
dotnet charon VERSION --verbose

Absolute and relative paths

When running commands, it’s crucial to be aware of whether you are using absolute or relative paths to files.

Absolute Path: An absolute path defines a file or directory’s location in relation to the root directory. In Linux and macOS, it starts from the root /, while in Windows, it begins with a drive letter (like C:\\).
- Example for Linux/macOS: /usr/local/bin
- Example for Windows: C:\\Program Files\\mono
Relative Path: A relative path references a file or directory in relation to the current working directory, without starting with a root slash or drive letter.
- Example: If currently in /home/user/Documents, a file in /home/user/Documents/Projects would have the relative path Projects/FileName.

Windows Command Prompt: Paths use backslashes (\\). Absolute paths start with a drive letter (like C:\\Users\\Name), while relative paths use the file name or paths like subfolder\\file.txt.
macOS/Linux Terminal: Paths are denoted with forward slashes (/). Absolute paths begin from the root (/), and relative paths use ./ for the current directory or ../ to go up one level.

Getting Help Text

To display list of available commands add –help or /?.

dotnet charon --help

#> Usage: dotnet charon <action> [--<param> || (--<param> <paramValue> ...) ...]
#>
#> Verbs:
#>  DATA        Data manipulation actions.
#>  GENERATE    Code generation actions.
#>  VERSION     Print version.

dotnet charon DATA EXPORT --help

#> Usage:
#>   DATA EXPORT --dataBase <URI> [--schemas [<TEXT>]] [--properties [<TEXT>]] [--languages [<TEXT>]] [--output <TEXT>
#>               ] [--outputFormat <TEXT>] [--outputFormattingOptions [<TEXT>]] [--mode <EXPORTMODE>] [--credentials [<
#>               TEXT>]]