This is my gem template. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

gem-create is a RubyGems plugin. It provides a gem create command which can be used to generate a skeleton for working on a new RubyGem.

Setup

First, install the gem:

gem install gem-create

Next, create a data file. By default this is in ~/.gem/skel.yml. This file contains variables that will be available in your template files. It must be a valid YAML file.

The following default variables are available in addition to any supplied in your data file:

name      # the name of the gem (eg: my_gem)
gem_class # the class name of the gem (eg: MyGem)

See spec/fixtures/skel.yml in this repo for an example data file.

Next, create your gem skeleton. By default this is in ~/.gem/skel. This directory contains files/directories that will be copied when creating a new gem. Files are rendered via ERB and may utilize the variables set in your data file (eg: <%= github_name %>).

Any file/directory with %gem_name% in it’s path will be renamed when the new gem is created. Eg (assume gem create my_new_gem):

some/%gem_name% => some/my_new_gem
some/gem_name   => some/gem_name

See spec/fixtures/skel in this repo for an example gem skeleton.

Usage

Usage: gem create GEM_NAME [options]

  Options:
    -f, --force                      Overwrite existing files
    -d, --destination-directory DIR  Destination directory,
                                     $PWD/GEM_NAME by default


  Skeleton Options:
        --template-directory DIR     A custom template directory to use
        --data-file PATH             Path to a YAML file containing
                                     variables that will be available
                                     in all template files


  Common Options:
    -h, --help                       Get help on this command
    -V, --[no-]verbose               Set the verbose level of output
    -q, --quiet                      Silence commands
        --config-file FILE           Use this config file instead of default
        --backtrace                  Show stack backtrace on errors
        --debug                      Turn on Ruby debugging


  Summary:
    Creates a new RubyGem skeleton

  Defaults:
    --template-directory ~/.gem/skel --data-file ~/.gem/skel.yml

Customization

If ~/.gem/skel and ~/.gem/skel.yml don’t work for you, you can customize them in ~/.gemrc:

create: --template-directory ~/code/gem-template --data-file ~/code/gem-template-data.yml

Development

gem-create depends on rake and minitest for testing.

git clone git://github.com/itspriddle/gem-create
cd gem-create
bundle install
bundle exec rake spec

Note on Patches/Pull Requests

  • Fork the project.
  • Make your feature addition or bug fix.
  • Add tests for it. This is important so I don’t break it in a future version unintentionally.
  • Commit, do not bump version. (If you want to have your own version, that is fine but bump version in a commit by itself I can ignore when I pull).
  • Send me a pull request. Bonus points for topic branches.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE in this repo.

Tags: Git, MiniTest, Ruby, RubyGems