Getting Started with switctl

This tutorial walks you through using switctl to create your first microservice and explores the key features of the CLI tool.

Prerequisites

Go 1.24 or later
Git
Basic understanding of microservices

Installation

1. Build from Source

bash

# Clone the Swit framework
git clone https://github.com/innovationmech/swit.git
cd swit

# Build switctl CLI
make build

# Verify installation
./bin/switctl --version

2. Add to PATH

bash

# Add to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc)
export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/swit/bin"

# Or create a symlink
sudo ln -s /path/to/swit/bin/switctl /usr/local/bin/switctl

3. Verify Installation

bash

switctl --help
# Should show the CLI help with all available commands

Your First Service with switctl

Step 1: Create a New Service

bash

# Create a user management service
switctl new service user-service

The CLI will prompt you for options:

text

✓ Service template: http-grpc
✓ Database type: postgresql
✓ Authentication: jwt
✓ Include Docker files: yes
✓ Include CI/CD files: yes

Step 2: Explore Generated Structure

bash

cd user-service
tree

Generated structure:

text

user-service/
├── cmd/user-service/
│   └── main.go                 # Service entry point
├── internal/
│   ├── handler/
│   │   ├── http/              # HTTP handlers
│   │   └── grpc/              # gRPC handlers
│   ├── service/               # Business logic
│   └── config/                # Configuration
├── api/
│   └── proto/                 # Protocol buffers
├── configs/
│   ├── development.yaml       # Development config
│   └── production.yaml        # Production config
├── Dockerfile                 # Container configuration
├── Makefile                   # Build automation
├── docker-compose.yml         # Local development
├── .switctl.yaml             # CLI configuration
├── go.mod                     # Go modules
└── README.md                 # Service documentation

Step 3: Build and Run

bash

# Initialize Go modules
go mod tidy

# Build the service
make build

# Run in development mode
make run

# Or run directly
go run cmd/user-service/main.go

Your service is now running on:

HTTP: http://localhost:8080
gRPC: localhost:9080

Step 4: Test the Service

bash

# Health check
curl http://localhost:8080/health

# API status
curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/status

# User operations (generated CRUD endpoints)
curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/users

Adding Components to Your Service

Generate API Endpoints

bash

# Generate CRUD API for products
switctl generate api product --methods=crud --validation=true

# Generate custom API
switctl generate api order \
  --methods=get,post,put \
  --middleware=auth,logging

Generate Middleware

bash

# Generate authentication middleware
switctl generate middleware auth --type=jwt

# Generate rate limiting middleware
switctl generate middleware rate-limit \
  --apply-to=http \
  --config=true

Generate Database Models

bash

# Generate User model with GORM
switctl generate model User \
  --database=gorm \
  --validation=true \
  --migration=true

This generates:

internal/model/user.go - Model definition
internal/repository/user_repository.go - Database operations
migrations/001_create_users.sql - Database migration

Quality Assurance with switctl

Run All Checks

bash

switctl check --all

This runs:

✅ Code formatting (gofmt)
✅ Code quality (golint)
✅ Security scanning
✅ Dependency vulnerabilities
✅ Test coverage
✅ Performance benchmarks

Specific Checks

bash

# Security only
switctl check --security
# Found 2 issues:
# - Use of weak cryptographic primitive (MD5)
# - Potential SQL injection in query

# Tests with coverage
switctl check --tests --coverage --threshold=80
# Coverage: 85% (above threshold ✓)

# Performance benchmarks
switctl check --performance
# All benchmarks within acceptable limits ✓

Development Workflow

1. Watch Mode for Development

bash

# Auto-rebuild on file changes
switctl dev watch

This monitors your code and automatically:

Rebuilds the service
Runs tests
Restarts the development server

2. Generate Documentation

bash

# Generate service documentation
switctl dev docs --format=html --output=./docs

3. Dependency Management

bash

# Check for outdated dependencies
switctl deps check

# Update dependencies safely
switctl deps update --security

Working with Templates

List Available Templates

bash

switctl template list

Available templates:

basic - Simple HTTP service
http-grpc - HTTP + gRPC service
full-featured - All features enabled
grpc-only - Pure gRPC service

Use Specific Template

bash

switctl new service payment-service \
  --template=full-featured \
  --database=postgresql \
  --auth=jwt \
  --cache=redis \
  --monitoring=sentry \
  --queue=rabbitmq

Custom Template

Create your own template for team standards:

bash

# Create template structure
mkdir -p ~/.switctl/templates/company-standard

# Generate template
switctl template create company-standard \
  --based-on=http-grpc \
  --add-feature=monitoring \
  --add-feature=tracing

Configuration Management

Project Configuration

switctl creates .switctl.yaml for project-specific settings:

yaml

project:
  name: "user-service"
  type: "microservice"
  
templates:
  default: "http-grpc"
  
database:
  type: "postgresql"
  migrations: true
  
testing:
  coverage_threshold: 80
  race_detection: true
  
security:
  enabled: true
  scan_deps: true

Global Configuration

Set global defaults:

bash

# Set preferred template
switctl config set template.default full-featured

# Set database preference
switctl config set database.type postgresql

# Set coverage threshold
switctl config set testing.coverage_threshold 85

Advanced Features

Plugin System

Extend switctl with custom plugins:

bash

# List available plugins
switctl plugin list

# Install plugin for OpenAPI generation
switctl plugin install openapi-gen

# Use plugin
switctl openapi generate --input=./api/proto --output=./docs/openapi.yaml

CI/CD Integration

Generated services include CI/CD configuration:

bash

# GitHub Actions (automatically generated)
.github/workflows/
├── ci.yml              # Build and test
├── security.yml        # Security scans
└── deploy.yml          # Deployment

# GitLab CI (with --cicd=gitlab)
.gitlab-ci.yml

Multi-Service Projects

Manage multiple services in a monorepo:

bash

# Initialize multi-service project
switctl init company-platform --type=monorepo

# Add services
switctl new service user-service --directory=services/
switctl new service order-service --directory=services/
switctl new service notification-service --directory=services/

# Generate shared components
switctl generate shared-lib common --type=utils

Best Practices

1. Start Simple, Scale Up

bash

# Begin with basic template
switctl new service my-service --template=basic

# Add features as needed
switctl generate api user --methods=crud
switctl generate middleware auth --type=jwt

2. Use Quality Checks Early

bash

# Run checks during development
switctl check --quality --security

# Set up pre-commit hooks
echo "switctl check --all" > .git/hooks/pre-commit
chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit

3. Maintain Configuration

bash

# Keep .switctl.yaml in version control
git add .switctl.yaml

# Document team standards
switctl config set team.standards "company-standard"

4. Leverage Templates

bash

# Create team-specific templates
switctl template create team-api \
  --based-on=http-grpc \
  --add-middleware=auth,logging,cors \
  --add-monitoring=sentry

# Share templates
git commit -m "Add team API template"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Command not found:

bash

# Check PATH
echo $PATH | grep switctl

# Use full path temporarily
/path/to/swit/bin/switctl --help

Template errors:

bash

# List available templates
switctl template list

# Debug template generation
switctl --debug new service test --template=basic

Generation failures:

bash

# Enable verbose output
switctl --verbose generate api user

# Check project configuration
switctl config get

Debug Mode

Use debug mode to troubleshoot issues:

bash

# Enable debug output
switctl --debug new service debug-test

# This shows:
# - Template resolution
# - File generation steps
# - Configuration validation
# - Error details

Next Steps

Now that you've created your first service with switctl:

Commands Reference - Learn all available commands
Template System - Master the template system
Framework Guide - Understand the underlying framework
Examples - Explore complete examples

Quick Reference

bash

# Essential commands
switctl new service <name>              # Create service
switctl generate api <name>             # Generate API
switctl check --all                     # Quality checks
switctl dev watch                       # Development mode

# Configuration
switctl config set <key> <value>        # Set config
switctl config get                      # View config

# Templates
switctl template list                   # List templates
switctl template create <name>          # Create template

# Help
switctl --help                          # General help
switctl <command> --help               # Command help

Welcome to efficient microservice development with switctl! 🚀

Getting Started with switctl ​

Prerequisites ​

Installation ​

1. Build from Source ​

2. Add to PATH ​

3. Verify Installation ​

Your First Service with switctl ​

Step 1: Create a New Service ​

Step 2: Explore Generated Structure ​

Step 3: Build and Run ​

Step 4: Test the Service ​

Adding Components to Your Service ​

Generate API Endpoints ​

Generate Middleware ​

Generate Database Models ​

Quality Assurance with switctl ​

Run All Checks ​

Specific Checks ​

Development Workflow ​

1. Watch Mode for Development ​

2. Generate Documentation ​

3. Dependency Management ​

Working with Templates ​

List Available Templates ​

Use Specific Template ​

Custom Template ​

Configuration Management ​

Project Configuration ​

Global Configuration ​

Advanced Features ​

Plugin System ​

CI/CD Integration ​

Multi-Service Projects ​

Best Practices ​

1. Start Simple, Scale Up ​

2. Use Quality Checks Early ​

3. Maintain Configuration ​

4. Leverage Templates ​

Troubleshooting ​

Common Issues ​

Debug Mode ​

Next Steps ​

Quick Reference ​

Getting Started with switctl

Prerequisites

Installation

1. Build from Source

2. Add to PATH

3. Verify Installation

Your First Service with switctl

Step 1: Create a New Service

Step 2: Explore Generated Structure

Step 3: Build and Run

Step 4: Test the Service

Adding Components to Your Service

Generate API Endpoints

Generate Middleware

Generate Database Models

Quality Assurance with switctl

Run All Checks

Specific Checks

Development Workflow

1. Watch Mode for Development

2. Generate Documentation

3. Dependency Management

Working with Templates

List Available Templates

Use Specific Template

Custom Template

Configuration Management

Project Configuration

Global Configuration

Advanced Features

Plugin System

CI/CD Integration

Multi-Service Projects

Best Practices

1. Start Simple, Scale Up

2. Use Quality Checks Early

3. Maintain Configuration

4. Leverage Templates

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Mode

Next Steps

Quick Reference