Dash CLI

Command-line interface for the Dash admin panel framework. Provides model generation, database management, and server monitoring tools.

Installation

# From within your Dash project
dart pub global activate --source path ./dash_cli

# Or install the executable directly
cd dash_cli && dart pub get

Development Setup

When developing the Dash CLI itself, you'll need to install it globally from source. This is only required when not pulling from pub.flutter-io.cn.

# From the dash_cli directory
dart pub global activate --source path .

# Or build the executable manually
dart build cli

The global activation will automatically compile the CLI to a native executable, avoiding dependency resolution output that can interfere with MCP server communication.

MCP Server Setup

The Dash CLI includes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for LLM integration, providing tools to interact with a running Dash server.

For Development (when not using pub.flutter-io.cn)

Install globally from source:

cd dash_cli
dart pub global activate --source path .

Create MCP configuration in your VS Code workspace (.vscode/mcp.json):

{
  "servers": {
    "dash": {
      "command": "/Users/mark/Developer/web/dash_board/dash_cli/build/cli/macos_arm64/bundle/bin/dcli",
      "args": ["mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

For Production (when installed from pub.flutter-io.cn)

When installed from pub.flutter-io.cn, the MCP server is automatically compiled and ready to use:

{
  "servers": {
    "dash": {
      "command": "dcli",
      "args": ["mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

MCP Server Features

The MCP server provides these tools for LLMs:

get_server_status - Check server health and uptime
get_registered_resources - List admin panel resources
get_request_logs - Query HTTP request logs
get_sql_logs - Query database query logs
get_exceptions - View error logs with stack traces
get_all_logs - Combined log querying
get_slow_requests - Find performance bottlenecks
get_slow_queries - Identify slow database queries
generate_models - Generate Dart models from YAML schemas

Usage:

# Start MCP server (usually handled by VS Code)
dcli mcp-server --url http://localhost:8080 --path /admin

Usage

dcli <command> [arguments]

Available Commands

Code Generation

`generate:models`

Generate Dart model and resource classes from schema YAML files.

# Generate models from default location (schemas/models -> lib)
dcli generate:models

# Specify custom paths
dcli generate:models -s path/to/schemas -o lib/src

# Verbose output
dcli generate:models -v

# Force overwrite existing resource files
dcli generate:models --force

Options:

-s, --schemas - Path to directory containing schema YAML files (default: schemas/models)
-o, --output - Output directory for generated code (default: lib)
-f, --force - Overwrite existing resource files
-v, --verbose - Show detailed output

Generated Files:

models/{model}.model.dart - Active Record model classes
models/{model}.model.g.dart - Generated serialization code
resources/{model}_resource.dart - Admin panel resource classes
models/models.dart - Barrel export file

Database Commands

`db:schema`

Display database table schemas with column information, indexes, and foreign keys.

# Show all tables
dcli db:schema

# Specify database path
dcli db:schema -d storage/app.db

# Show specific table only
dcli db:schema -t users

# Compact output (just column names)
dcli db:schema -c

Options:

-d, --database - Path to SQLite database file (default: storage/app.db)
-t, --table - Show only specific table
-c, --compact - Compact output without column details

Example Output:

📊 Database Schema
──────────────────
users (63 rows)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Column                   Type           Null    Primary   Default        
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
id                       INTEGER        YES     ✓ PK                     
name                     TEXT           NO                               
email                    TEXT           NO                               
role                     TEXT           NO                               
  Indexes:
    • sqlite_autoindex_users_1: email (UNIQUE)

`db:create`

Interactively create a single model record with user input or generated values.

# Create a user record interactively
dcli db:create User

# Create a post with generated values (non-interactive)
dcli db:create Post --non-interactive

# List available models
dcli db:create --list

Options:

Model name (positional) - The model to create a record for
-d, --database - Path to database file (default: storage/app.db)
-s, --schemas - Path to schema YAML files (default: schemas/models)
--non-interactive - Use generated values without prompting
-l, --list - List available models

Interactive Mode: When run interactively, you'll be prompted to enter values for each field. Press Enter to use default values or generated data.

Non-Interactive Mode: Generates appropriate fake data based on field types (emails, names, content, etc.).

`db:seed`

Seed the database with fake data based on model schema.

# List available models
dcli db:seed --list

# Seed 100 users
dcli db:seed User 100

# Seed with custom schema path
dcli db:seed User 50 -s example/schemas/models

# Verbose output
dcli db:seed User 10 -v

Options:

Model name (positional) - The model to seed (e.g., User, Post)
Count (positional) - Number of records to create (default: 10)
-d, --database - Path to SQLite database file (default: storage/app.db)
-s, --schemas - Path to schema YAML files (default: schemas/models)
-v, --verbose - Show detailed output
-l, --list - List available models

Smart Data Generation: The seeder inspects your schema and generates appropriate fake data:

email fields → fake email addresses
name fields → fake names
password fields → bcrypt-like hashes
slug fields → URL-friendly slugs
content/body fields → lorem ipsum paragraphs
avatar/image fields → placeholder image URLs
Enum fields → random selection from allowed values
Boolean fields → context-aware (e.g., isActive → 80% true)

`db:clear`

Clear all data from database tables (keeps table structure).

# Clear all tables (with confirmation)
dcli db:clear

# Clear specific table
dcli db:clear -t users

# Skip confirmation
dcli db:clear --force

Options:

-d, --database - Path to SQLite database file (default: storage/app.db)
-t, --table - Clear only specific table
-f, --force - Skip confirmation prompt

Safety Features:

Shows row counts before clearing
Requires confirmation unless --force is used
Only clears data, preserves table structure and indexes

Server Commands

`server:status`

Display server status and health information.

# Check default server
dcli server:status

# Check custom server URL
dcli server:status --url http://localhost:3000 --path /admin

Options:

--url - Server URL (default: http://localhost:8080)
--path - Admin panel base path (default: /admin)

Example Output:

📊 Server Status
────────────────

  ● Status:        Running
  ○ Version:       0.1.0
  ○ Response time: 44ms
  ○ Uptime:        5m 30s

Resources
  ○ Resources:     3 registered
  ● Database:      Connected

Registered Resources
  ○ Post (/post)
  ○ Tag (/tag)
  ○ User (/user)

`server:log`

Stream server logs to the console.

# Show last 50 log entries
dcli server:log

# Show last N lines
dcli server:log -n 100

# Follow logs in real-time (like tail -f)
dcli server:log -f

Options:

-f, --follow - Follow log output (like tail -f)
-n, --lines - Number of lines to show (default: 50)
--url - Server URL
--path - Admin panel base path

Log Types:

request - HTTP requests with method, path, status, and duration
query - Database queries with execution time and row counts
error - Application errors and exceptions
info - General application events

MCP Server

`mcp-server`

Start an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for LLM integration.

# Start MCP server with default settings
dcli mcp-server

# Connect to custom server
dcli mcp-server --url http://localhost:3000 --path /admin

Options:

--url - Server URL (default: http://localhost:8080)
--path - Admin panel base path (default: /admin)

Available Tools:

get_server_status - Check server health and uptime
get_registered_resources - List admin panel resources
get_request_logs - Query HTTP request logs
get_sql_logs - Query database query logs
get_exceptions - View error logs with stack traces
get_all_logs - Combined log querying
get_slow_requests - Find performance bottlenecks
get_slow_queries - Identify slow database queries
generate_models - Generate Dart models from YAML schemas

Shell Completion

`completion`

Generate shell completion scripts for auto-complete support.

# Generate Zsh completion script
dcli completion zsh

# Install Zsh completion
dcli completion zsh --install

# Generate Bash completion script
dcli completion bash

# Install Bash completion
dcli completion bash --install

Zsh Setup: After installing, add to your ~/.zshrc:

fpath=(~/.zsh/completions $fpath)
autoload -Uz compinit && compinit

Then restart your shell or run source ~/.zshrc.

Server API

The CLI communicates with the Dash server via a REST API. This API is automatically enabled in development mode.

Endpoints:

GET /_cli/status - Server status and health information
GET /_cli/logs - Query log entries
GET /_cli/health - Simple health check

To disable the CLI API in production, set the environment variable:

DASH_ENV=production dart run your_app.dart

Configuration

The CLI looks for configuration in the following order:

dash.yaml in current directory
schemas/panel.yaml
pubspec.yaml (under dash: key)
Command-line arguments (highest priority)

Example dash.yaml:

database:
  path: storage/app.db

schemas:
  path: schemas/models

output:
  path: lib

server:
  url: http://localhost
  port: 8080
  basePath: /admin

Examples

Setting up a new project

# Generate models from schema files
dcli generate:models -s schemas/models -o lib

# Seed initial test data
dcli db:seed User 10
dcli db:seed Post 50

# Check schema
dcli db:schema

Development workflow

# Terminal 1: Run the server
dart run lib/main.dart

# Terminal 2: Monitor logs
dcli server:log -f

# Terminal 3: Check status
dcli server:status

Database management

# View all tables and their structure
dcli db:schema

# View specific table
dcli db:schema -t users

# Create a single record interactively
dcli db:create User

# Seed test data
dcli db:seed User 100 -v

# Clear and reseed
dcli db:clear -t users --force
dcli db:seed User 50

Troubleshooting

"Schemas directory not found"

Specify the correct path to your schema files:

dcli generate:models -s path/to/schemas

"Database not found"

The database file doesn't exist. Make sure your Dash server has been started at least once to create the database.

"Cannot connect to server"

The server must be running for server:status and server:log commands. Start it with:

dart run lib/main.dart

"CLI API not enabled"

The CLI API is disabled in production mode. For local testing, ensure DASH_ENV is not set to production.

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details.

Dash CLI

Installation

Development Setup

MCP Server Setup

For Development (when not using pub.flutter-io.cn)

For Production (when installed from pub.flutter-io.cn)

MCP Server Features

Usage

Available Commands

Code Generation

`generate:models`

Database Commands

`db:schema`

`db:create`

`db:seed`

`db:clear`

Server Commands

`server:status`

`server:log`

MCP Server

`mcp-server`

Shell Completion

`completion`

Server API

Configuration

Examples

Setting up a new project

Development workflow

Database management

Troubleshooting

"Schemas directory not found"

"Database not found"

"Cannot connect to server"

"CLI API not enabled"

License

Libraries

dash_panel_cli package