Code Generation Configuration

In Coalesce, all configuration of the code generation is done in a JSON file. This file is typically named coalesce.json and is typically placed in the solution root.

File Resolution

When the code generation is run by invoking dotnet coalesce, Coalesce will try to find a configuration file via the following means:

1. If an argument is specified on the command line, it will be used as the location of the file. E.g. dotnet coalesce C:/Projects/MyProject/config.json
2. If no argument is given, Coalesce will try to use a file in the working directory named coalesce.json
3. If no file is found in the working directory, Coalesce will crawl up the directory tree from the working directory until a file named coalesce.json is found. If such a file is never found, an error will be thrown.

Contents

A full example of a coalesce.json file, along with an explanation of each property, is as follows:

{
    "webProject": {
        // Required: Path to the csproj of the web project. Path is relative to location of this coalesce.json file.
        "projectFile": "src/Coalesce.Web/Coalesce.Web.csproj",

        // Optional: Framework to use when evaluating & building dependencies.
        // Not needed if your project only specifies a single framework - only required for multi-targeting projects.
        "framework": "netcoreapp2.0",

        // Optional: Build configuration to use when evaluating & building dependencies.
        // Defaults to "Debug".
        "configuration": "Debug",

        // Optional: Override the namespace prefix for generated C# code.
        // Defaults to MSBuild's `$(RootNamespace)` for the project.
        "rootNamespace": "MyCompany.Coalesce.Web",
    },

    "dataProject": {
        // Required: Path to the csproj of the data project. Path is relative to location of this coalesce.json file.
        "projectFile": "src/Coalesce.Domain/Coalesce.Domain.csproj",

        // Optional: Framework to use when evaluating & building dependencies.
        // Not needed if your project only specifies a single framework - only required for multi-targeting projects.
        "framework": "netstandard2.0",

        // Optional: Build configuration to use when evaluating & building dependencies.
        // Defaults to "Release".
        "configuration": "Debug",
    },

    // The name of the root generator to use. Defaults to "Knockout".
    // Available values are "Vue" and "Knockout".
    "rootGenerator": "Vue",
            
    // If set, specifies a list of whitelisted root type names that will restrict
    // which types Coalesce will use for code generation. 
    // Root types are those that must be annotated with [Coalesce].
    // Useful if want to segment a single data project into multiple web projects, 
    // or into different areas/directories within a single web project.
    "rootTypesWhitelist": [
        "MyDbContext", "MyCustomDto"
    ],

    "generatorConfig": {
        // A set of objects keyed by generator name.
        // Generator names may optionally be qualified by their full namespace.
        // All generators are listed when running 'dotnet coalesce' with '--verbosity debug'.
        // For example, "Views" or "IntelliTect.Coalesce.CodeGeneration.Knockout.Generators.Views".
        "GeneratorName": {
            // Optional: true if the generator should be disabled.
            "disabled": true,
            // Optional: Configures a path relative to the default output path for the generator
            // where that generator's output should be placed instead.
            "targetDirectory": "../DifferentFolder"
        },
        // Indentation for generated C# is configurable by type (API controllers, DTO classes and regular View controllers)
        // It defaults to 4 spaces
        "ApiController": {
            "indentationSize": 2 
        },
        "ClassDto": {
            "indentationSize": 2 
        },
        "ViewController" : {
            "indentationSize": 2
        }
    }
}

Additional CLI Options

There are a couple of extra options which are only available as CLI parameters to dotnet coalesce. These options do not affect the behavior of the code generation - only the behavior of the CLI itself.

--debug

When this flag is specified when running dotnet coalesce, Coalesce will wait up to 60 seconds for a debugger to be attached to its process before starting code generation.

-v|--verbosity <level>

Set the verbosity of the output. Options are trace, debug, information, warning, error, critical, and none.