Set answers with extra context

Set answers with extra context#

Pass key=value pairs after the template ID to set answers without writing a file. Cookieplone calls these pairs extra context.

Prerequisites#

  • Cookieplone 2.0, installed or run with uvx.

  • The names of the fields you want to set. A .cookieplone.json file from a project you generated lists them, and so does the template's cookieplone.json, under schema.properties.

Set an answer#

Add one pair per field after the template ID:

uvx cookieplone project title="My Site" author="Jane Doe"

Quote values that contain spaces, so your shell passes each pair as one argument.

Cookieplone still asks every question. Each pair becomes the default of its question, and the answer you type replaces it.

Generate without questions#

Add --no-input to use the pairs as answers, and the template defaults for every other field:

uvx cookieplone project title="My Site" author="Jane Doe" --no-input

Cookieplone runs the template's validators on each value, and stops with an error when one fails. See Validator contract.

Combine pairs with an answers file#

Pass the pairs and the answers file together:

uvx cookieplone title="My Renamed Site" --answers-file .cookieplone.json --no-input

Cookieplone takes the template from the file's __template__ key, so you can leave out the template ID. A pair replaces the value of the same key in the file.

Which value wins#

For each field, Cookieplone uses the first value it finds, in this order:

  1. The answer you type at the prompt, in an interactive run.

  2. A key=value pair on the command line.

  3. The answers file.

  4. default_context in your configuration file. See Configuration reference.

  5. The default in the template's cookieplone.json.

Answer no to a yes-or-no question#

Every value on the command line is text. With --no-input, Cookieplone treats any value that isn't empty as yes, including no, false, and 0.

To answer no, leave the value empty:

uvx cookieplone project initialize_documentation= --no-input

In an interactive run, any value that isn't empty makes Yes the default answer.

An answers file keeps JSON types, so false in the file answers no:

{
  "__template__": "project",
  "initialize_documentation": false
}

Limits#

  • A value can't contain =. Cookieplone stops with a ValueError. Put such a value in an answers file instead.

  • Cookieplone doesn't check a value against the options of a choice question. A value that isn't one of the options reaches the template unchanged, so check its spelling against the const values in the template's cookieplone.json.

  • A pair whose key names a computed or constant field replaces that field's value. A pair whose key matches no field still reaches the template. .cookieplone.json records neither, so running again with that file doesn't repeat them.

What Cookieplone saves#

Cookieplone writes .cookieplone.json into the generated project. With --no-input, the file records the values you supplied for the template's questions, from pairs, the answers file, or default_context. In an interactive run, it records every answer.

Contents