Spectre.Console AutoCompletion is a NuGet package enhancing Spectre.Console.Cli applications by providing shell auto completion. It offers built-in suggestions for options and branches, supports custom static and dynamic suggestions, and integrates seamlessly with PowerShell. The package is easy to install and configure, making it a valuable tool for enriching CLI applications.
$ dotnet add package JKToolKit.Spectre.AutoCompletion
JKToolKit.Spectre.AutoCompletion is an extension package for adding auto completion to your Spectre.Console powered applications.
It comes with suggestions for Options and Branches out of the box, but you can also add your own suggestions for option and argument values.
The extension can be enabled using the AddAutoCompletion method on the Configurator object.
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
var app = new CommandApp();
app.Configure
(
config =>
{
config
.AddAutoCompletion(x => x.AddPowershell())
.AddCommand<LionCommand>("lion");
}
) ;
}
You can add autocomplete to PowerShell by running your application with the completion powershell command, as shown below:
.\AutoCompletion.exe completion powershell | Out-String | Invoke-Expression
To add autocomplete to PowerShell permanently, use the --install flag:
.\AutoCompletion.exe completion powershell --install | Out-String | Invoke-Expression
The shell integration uses the completion complete command to get the suggestions for the current command line like this:
.\AutoCompletion.exe completion complete "AutoCompletion.exe Li"
Spectre.Console auto completion allows you to specify static autocomplete suggestions for your command arguments and options. This can be done using the CompletionSuggestions attribute in your command settings class.
Here's an example of how to add static autocomplete suggestions:
public class LionSettings : CommandSettings
{
[CommandArgument(0, "<TEETH>")]
[Description("The number of teeth the lion has.")]
[CompletionSuggestions("10", "15", "20", "30")]
public int Teeth { get; set; }
[CommandOption("-a|--age <AGE>")]
public int Age { get; set; }
[CommandOption("-n|--name <NAME>")]
public string Name { get; set; }
}
In addition to static autocomplete suggestions, you can also provide dynamic autocomplete suggestions based on the user's input. This can be done by implementing the IAsyncCommandCompletable interface in your command class and overriding the GetSuggestionsAsync method.
Here's an example of how to add dynamic autocomplete suggestions:
[Description("The lion command.")]
public class LionCommand : Command<LionSettings>, IAsyncCommandCompletable
{
public override int Execute(CommandContext context, LionSettings settings)
{
return 0;
}
public async Task<CompletionResult> GetSuggestionsAsync(ICommandParameterInfo parameter, string? prefix)
{
if(string.IsNullOrEmpty(prefix))
{
return CompletionResult.None();
}
return await this.MatchAsync()
.Add(x => x.Age, (prefix) =>
{
if (prefix.Length != 0)
{
return FindNextEvenNumber(prefix);
}
return "16";
})
.Add(x => x.Name, prefix =>
{
var names = new List<string>
{
"angel", "angelika", "robert",
"jennifer", "michael", "lucy",
"david", "sarah", "john", "katherine",
"mark"
};
var bestMatches = names
.Where(name => name.StartsWith(prefix))
.ToList();
return new CompletionResult(bestMatches, bestMatches.Any());
})
.MatchAsync(parameter, prefix)
.WithPreventDefault();
}
}
There is a working example of the AutoCompletion feature demonstrating this.