/YarnSpinner-Console

The command line tool for working with Yarn Spinner.

Primary LanguageC#MIT LicenseMIT

Yarn Spinner Console

ysc is the command-line tool for working with Yarn Spinner programs.

Installing ysc

You can install ysc by downloading the most recent release, or by building it locally.

Building it locally

  • Download and install the .NET SDK.

  • In your terminal, build and run the project with the following command:

    dotnet-run -- [your commands]

    For example, to compile a Yarn script, run the following command:

    dotnet-run -- compile path/to/MyScript.yarn

Compiling Scripts

$ ysc compile [--output-directory <output>] [--output-name <name>] [--output-string-table-name <tablename>] [--output-metadata-table-name <metadataname>] <input1.yarn> <input2.yarn> ...

ysc will compile all of the .yarn files you provide, and generates three files: input.yarnc compiled program, input-Lines.csv strings table, and input-Metadata.csv table of line metadata.

By default the name of the yarn file will be used to name the compiled output. If more than one Yarn file is included then you can set a name using the --output-name option, this name will then be used as the base name for the files. If a name isn't set and there are more than one input, the default name of Output will be used as the base name.

If further customisation --output-string-table-name and --output-metadata-table-name allow overriding the filename of the string and metadata tables respectively.

Running Scripts

$ ysc run [--auto-advance] [--start-node <Start>] <input1.yarn> <input2.yarn> ...

ysc will compile all of the .yarn files provided and then begin running them from the Start node. By specifiying the --start-node option you can configure which node is used as the entry point for the story, defaulting to Start if not set.

If you specify the --auto-advance flag, the normal lines of dialogue will be presented automatically, only holding the program up when an option or shortcut is reached. This flag is not set by default meaning each line of dialogue will halt the story until manually advanced with the return/enter key.

NOTE: Custom functions are not supported and encountering one will cause the story to be aborted.

Upgrading Scripts

$ ysc upgrade [--upgrade-type <1>] <input1.yarn> <input2.yarn> ...

ysc will upgrade the yarn files from one version of Yarn to another. By specifying the --upgrade-type option you can configure from what version, to which version, of Yarn to convert. Defaults to 1, or upgrading a yarn v1 file to a yarn v2 file.

Printing the Syntax Tree

$ ysc print-tree [--output-directory <output>] [--json] <input1.yarn> <input2.yarn> ...

Prints a human readable form of the dialogue syntax tree of the input Yarn files. This is useful when debugging the language itself or for some more unusual shenanigans. Defaults to returning the syntax tree as a text file, by specifiying the --json flag will instead return them as a JSON file.

Printing the Parser Tokens

$ ysc print-tokens [--output-directory <output>] [--json] <input1.yarn> <input2.yarn> ...

Prints a list of all parser tokens from the included Yarn files. Tokens are shown with their line number and starting index. This is useful when debugging the language itself or for some more unusual shenanigans. Defaults to returning the syntax tree as a text file, by specifiying the --json flag will instead return them as a JSON file.

Tagging lines for localisation

$ ysc tag [--output-directory <output>] <input1.yarn> <input2.yarn> ...

Tags the input Yarn files with line ID hashtag for localisation. Uses the line tagging code from YarnSpinner core, this means by default lines will be tagged following the rules of tagging lines from the core. If --output-directory is not set will default to overriding the files in place.

Extracting lines for recording

$ ysc extract <input1.yarn> <input2.yarn> ... [--format csv|xlsx] [--columns <column1> <column2> ...] [--default-name <name>] [--output <file>]

Creates a tables of all lines in the included Yarn files in a format intended for easier recording. Runs of lines are collected and seperated in the table. Currently the table shows the character, the line, and the line ID in that order.

Defaults to extracting the strings as a csv but this can be changed using the --format option. If the excel option is set (--format xlsx) then conditional highlighting will be used to colour each characters lines.

If the columns option is set you can define a list of columns you want the output to have. There are several pre-defined columns (text, id, character, file, line, node) which can be used and the exporter will fill in the appropriate line details in that place. Any custom columns are left blank. If setting the columns you must include at least text and id somewhere in your for the extraction to continue. If --columns is not set it will default to using the columns character, text, id in that order.

If the default-name option is set you can define a default name for lines of dialogue that do not have a character set. Defaults to none if not used.

If the output option is set you can define a file location for the extracted dialogue. When exporting an xlsx the file type of set when using --output must be xlsx or else the export will fail. Defaults to lines in the current directory if not set.

Generating a node graph

$ ysc graph <input1.yarn> <input2.yarn> ... [--clustering] [--format dot|mermaid] [--output <file>]

Creates a graph in the DOT or mermaid graph description language of all nodes and their links in the Yarn files. This allows for a high level look at the structure of the story. If positional information is contained with the header of hodes this will also be captured in the output where possible.

If the output option is set you can define a file location for the graph. By default will name itself dialogue if not otherwise set. The default file extension will change depending on the format, using .dot and .mmd for DOT and mermaid graphs respectively.

If the clustering flag is set the graph will cluster nodes into subgraphs based on the file they are contained within. This may or may not be of use depending on the visualisation tool used to render the graph.

The format option can be set to determine the graph format. Can be either dot or mermaid. Will default to dot if not otherwise set.

Note that this generates the graph file itself, to preview it you will need a tool that can import and visualise DOT or mermaid files.

License

ysc is available under the MIT License.

Contributing

See the Contributing guide for developer documentation.