CLI Reference - Ovie Programming Language

🏆 Self-Hosted CLI!

The Ovie CLI tools are powered by the self-hosted compiler - a compiler written in Ovie itself!

Overview

The Ovie CLI provides a comprehensive set of tools for developing, building, testing, and managing Ovie projects. All commands are designed to be intuitive and follow consistent patterns.

💡 Getting Help

Use ovie --help or ovie <command> --help to get detailed information about any command.

Basic Commands

ovie --version Info

Display the Ovie version and build information.

ovie --version

Example output:

Ovie Programming Language v1.0.0
Self-hosted compiler (written in Ovie)
Build: 2026-01-30
Target: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu

ovie --help Info

Show help information and available commands.

ovie --help

Project Management

ovie new Project

Create a new Ovie project with the standard directory structure.

ovie new <project-name> [options]

Option	Description	Default
`--template <name>`	Use a specific project template	basic
`--lib`	Create a library project	false
`--bin`	Create a binary project	true

Examples:

ovie new my-app
ovie new my-lib --lib
ovie new web-server --template web

ovie init Project

Initialize an Ovie project in the current directory.

ovie init [options]

Option	Description
`--name <name>`	Set the project name
`--force`	Overwrite existing files

Building and Running

ovie run Execute

Compile and run an Ovie program or project.

ovie run [file] [options]

Option	Description
`--release`	Build in release mode (optimized)
`--target <target>`	Specify compilation target
`--args <args>`	Pass arguments to the program

Examples:

ovie run                    # Run current project
ovie run main.ov           # Run specific file
ovie run --release         # Run optimized build
ovie run --args "arg1 arg2" # Pass arguments

ovie build Build

Compile an Ovie project without running it.

ovie build [options]

Option	Description
`--release`	Build in release mode
`--target <target>`	Compilation target
`--output <path>`	Output file path
`--verbose`	Verbose compilation output

ovie check Validate

Check code for errors without building.

ovie check [file] [options]

Option	Description
`--all`	Check all files in project
`--json`	Output results in JSON format

Testing

ovie test Test

Run tests for the current project.

ovie test [pattern] [options]

Option	Description
`--release`	Run tests in release mode
`--verbose`	Show detailed test output
`--parallel`	Run tests in parallel
`--coverage`	Generate code coverage report

Examples:

ovie test                  # Run all tests
ovie test math             # Run tests matching "math"
ovie test --coverage       # Run with coverage report

ovie bench Test

Run benchmark tests.

ovie bench [pattern] [options]

Option	Description
`--save-baseline`	Save results as baseline
`--compare`	Compare with baseline

Code Quality

ovie fmt Format

Format Ovie source code according to style guidelines.

ovie fmt [files] [options]

Option	Description
`--check`	Check if files are formatted
`--diff`	Show formatting differences

ovie lint Quality

Run the Aproko code assistant for style and quality checks.

ovie lint [files] [options]

Option	Description
`--fix`	Automatically fix issues
`--strict`	Enable strict mode

Package Management

ovie add Package

Add a dependency to the current project.

ovie add <package> [options]

Option	Description
`--dev`	Add as development dependency
`--version <ver>`	Specify package version

ovie remove Package

Remove a dependency from the current project.

ovie remove <package>

ovie update Package

Update project dependencies.

ovie update [package]

Development Workflow

Here's a typical development workflow using the Ovie CLI:

Create Project

ovie new my-app

Write Code

Edit src/main.ov

Check Code

ovie check

Run Tests

ovie test

Format Code

ovie fmt

Build Release

ovie build --release

Configuration

The Ovie CLI can be configured through the ovie.toml file in your project root:

[project]
name = "my-app"
version = "1.0.0"
authors = ["Your Name <you@example.com>"]

[build]
target = "native"
optimization = "speed"
debug_info = true

[dependencies]
# Add dependencies here

[dev-dependencies]
# Add development dependencies here

[features]
aproko = true
self_hosting = true

Environment Variables

The Ovie CLI respects these environment variables:

Variable	Description	Default
`OVIE_HOME`	Ovie installation directory	Auto-detected
`OVIE_CACHE`	Compilation cache directory	`~/.cache/ovie`
`OVIE_LOG`	Logging level	`info`
`OVIE_TARGET`	Default compilation target	`native`

🚀 Pro Tips

Use ovie check frequently during development for fast feedback
Set up ovie fmt in your editor for automatic formatting
Use ovie test --coverage to ensure good test coverage
The --verbose flag provides detailed output for debugging

CLI powered by the self-hosted Ovie compiler 🎉

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