# Introduction Welcome to the comprehensive documentation for **Azu CLI** - the command-line interface for the Azu Toolkit ecosystem. ## What is Azu CLI? Azu CLI is a powerful, developer-friendly command-line tool designed to accelerate development with the Azu Toolkit framework. It provides scaffolding, code generation, development server capabilities, and database management tools to help you build high-performance, type-safe Crystal applications quickly and efficiently. ## Key Features ### **Project Scaffolding** * Create new Azu projects with a single command * Initialize Azu in existing Crystal projects * Multiple project templates (web, API, CLI) * Interactive project setup wizard ### **Code Generation** * Generate endpoints (controllers) with full CRUD operations * Create CQL ORM models with attributes * Build services following DDD patterns * Generate middleware components * Create request/response contracts * Build page components and templates * Generate real-time live components * Create custom validators * Database migration generation * Complete resource scaffolding ### **Development Tools** * Hot-reloading development server * File system watching and auto-compilation * Database management commands * Interactive console (REPL) * Testing framework integration * Real-time error reporting ### **Framework Integration** * **Azu Web Framework**: High-performance, type-safe web framework * **CQL ORM**: Crystal Query Language Object-Relational Mapping * **Topia CLI**: Powerful command-line parsing framework ## Who Is This For? * **Crystal Developers** building web applications with Azu * **Backend Developers** creating APIs and microservices * **Full-Stack Developers** building real-time applications * **DevOps Engineers** deploying Crystal applications * **Teams** looking for consistent development workflows ## What You Can Build * **Web Applications**: Full-featured web apps with real-time capabilities * **REST APIs**: Type-safe, high-performance API services * **Real-time Applications**: WebSocket-powered live applications * **Microservices**: Distributed service architectures * **CLI Tools**: Command-line applications using Crystal * **Background Jobs**: Asynchronous job processing systems ## Prerequisites Before using Azu CLI, ensure you have: * **Crystal**: Version 1.6.0 or higher * **Database**: PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite * **Git**: For version control and project management * **Node.js**: (Optional) For frontend asset management ## Getting Started 1. [**Install Azu CLI**](/azu-cli/overview/installation.md) - Installation instructions for all platforms 2. [**Quick Start Guide**](/azu-cli/overview/quick-start.md) - Create your first Azu application in minutes 3. [**Project Structure**](/azu-cli/overview/project-structure.md) - Understand how Azu projects are organized ## 📚 Documentation Sections ### Command Reference Comprehensive guide to all CLI commands, their options, and usage examples. ### Generators Detailed documentation for all code generators including templates, customization, and best practices. ### Development Workflows Step-by-step guides for common development scenarios and patterns. ### Architecture & Internals Deep dive into how Azu CLI works internally, useful for contributors and advanced users. ### Configuration Complete configuration reference for projects, databases, and development environments. ### Examples & Tutorials Hands-on tutorials building real applications with Azu CLI. ### Integration How to integrate Azu CLI with other tools and frameworks in the Crystal ecosystem. ### Troubleshooting Solutions to common issues and problems you might encounter. ## Quick Examples ### Create a New Project ```bash # Create a new web application azu new my_blog --type web --database postgres # Create an API-only application azu new my_api --type api --database mysql ``` ### Generate Components ```bash # Generate a complete blog post resource azu generate scaffold Post title:string content:text published:boolean # Generate a user model azu generate model User name:string email:string # Generate a real-time component azu generate component Counter count:integer --websocket ``` ### Development Server ```bash # Start development server with hot reloading azu serve --port 4000 # Start in development mode (alias) azu dev ``` ### Database Operations ```bash # Create and migrate database azu db:create azu db:migrate # Seed with sample data azu db:seed ``` ### OpenAPI Integration ```bash # Generate code from OpenAPI specification azu openapi:generate api-spec.yaml # Export OpenAPI specification from code azu openapi:export --output api.yaml ``` ## Community & Support * **GitHub Repository**: [azutoolkit/azu\_cli](https://github.com/azutoolkit/azu_cli) * **Azu Toolkit Documentation**: [azutopia.gitbook.io/azu](https://azutopia.gitbook.io/azu/) * **Crystal Language**: [crystal-lang.org](https://crystal-lang.org/) * **Issues & Bug Reports**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/azutoolkit/azu_cli/issues) ## License Azu CLI is open source software licensed under the [MIT License](https://github.com/azutoolkit/azu_cli/blob/master/LICENSE/README.md). ## Related Projects * [**Azu Web Framework**](https://github.com/azutoolkit/azu): The core web framework * [**CQL ORM**](https://github.com/azutoolkit/cql): Crystal Query Language ORM * [**Topia**](https://github.com/azutoolkit/topia): CLI framework used by Azu CLI * [**JoobQ**](https://github.com/azutoolkit/joobq): Background job processing *** Ready to get started? Head over to the [Installation Guide](/azu-cli/overview/installation.md) or jump straight into the [Quick Start](/azu-cli/overview/quick-start.md) tutorial! --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://azutopia.gitbook.io/azu-cli/overview/readme.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.