pxt-mkc

MKC - command line tool for MakeCode editors

This package includes a tool that can compile MakeCode (PXT) projects by downloading parts of a released MakeCode web app and running them in node.js.

This is different than pxt command line tool, which is used primarily during development of MakeCode editors.

Installation

Make sure to install node.js.

To install mkc globally, run

npm install -g makecode

Do not install the npm mkc package, it is another package.

To update mkc,

npm install -u -g makecode

Usage

The command line tool can be invoked as makecode or mkc for short.

mkc init

To start a new micro:bit project in an empty folder:

mkc init microbit

where microbit is the template name. To get the list of supported templates, do mkc help init.

It is possible to specify a list of dependencies to be added to the template.

mkc init microbit jacdac jacdac-button jacdac-led

Your project is ready to be edited. If you are a Visual Studio Code user, type code . and you’re ready to go!

mkc install

This command downloads the sources of extensions to the file system so that your TypeScript IDE can use them

mkc install

mkc build

In a folder with pxt.json file, run the build command.

mkc build

Build is also the default command, so you can just leave it out.

mkc

You can also pass --hw f4, --hw d5 etc. Try --hw help to get a list. Use mkc -j to build JavaScript (it defaults to native).

To build and deploy to a device add -d.

mkc -d

The tool checks once a day if the MakeCode editor has been updated. However, you can force an update by using --update during a build.

mkc --update

mkc build –watch

Use --watch, or -w, with mkc build to automatically watch changes in source files and rebuild automatically.

mkc -w

mkc build compile switches

Options can be passed to PXT compiler using --compile-flags (-f) option:

mkc -f size            # generate .csv file with function sizes
mkc -f asmdebug        # generate more comments in assembly listing
mkc -f profile         # enable profiling counters
mkc -f rawELF          # don't generate .UF2 but a raw ELF file
mkc -f size,asmdebug   # example with two options

The same options (except for asmdebug) can be passed to website with ?compiler=... or ?compile=... argument and to the regular pxt command line utility with PXT_COMPILE_SWITCHES=....

Built files in containers, GitHub Codespace, …

To access the build files from a remote machine,

• open Visual Studio Code
• browse to the built folder
• right click Download on the desired file.

mkc serve

Use mkc serve to start a watch-build and localhost server with simulator. Defaults to http://127.0.0.1:7001

mkc serve

You can change the port using port.

mkc serve --port 7002

By default, the simulator ignores loader.js. If you have modifications in that file, use --force-local to use your loader.js.

mkc serve --force-local

mkc clean

Run the clean command to erase build artifacts and cached packages.

mkc clean

mkc search

Search for extensions hosted on GitHub.

mkc search jacdac

You can use the result with the add command to add extensions to your project.

mkc add

Adds a new dependency to the project. Pass a GitHub repository URL to the add command.

mkc add https://github.com/microsoft/pxt-jacdac/button

For Jacdac extensions, simply write jacdac-servicename

mkc add jacdac-button

mkc bump

Interactive update of the version number of the current project and all nested projects in a mono-repo.

mkc bump

Use --major, --minor, --patch to automatically increment the version number.

mkc bump --patch

Adding --version-file will make mkc write a TypeScript file with the version number.

mkc bump --version-file version.ts

Add --stage to test the bump without pushing to git.

mkc bump --stage

mkc download

Downloads a shared MakeCode project to files and initializes the project.

mkc download https://.....

Advanced Configuration

The init commands creates a mkc.json file that you can also use for additional configurations.

{
    "targetWebsite": "https://arcade.makecode.com/beta",
    "hwVariant": "samd51",
    "links": {
        "jacdac": "../../pxt-jacdac"
    },
    "overrides": {
        "testDependencies": {}
    },
    "include": ["../../common-mkc.json"]
}

All fields are optional.

• targetWebsite says where to take the compiler from; if you omit it, it will be guessed based on packages used by pxt.json; you can point this to a live or beta version of the editor, as well as to a specific version (including SHA-indexed uploads generated during PXT target builds)
• hwVariant specifies default hardware variant (currently only used in Arcade); try --hw help command line option to list variants
• links overrides specific packages; these can be github packages or built-in packages
• overrides is used to override specific keys in pxt.json
• files listed in include are merged with the keys from the later ones overriding the keys from the earlier ones; the keys from the current file override all included keys

You can use --config-path or -c to build for a different configuration.

mkc -c mkc-arcade.json

Local development

This section describes how to build mkc itself.

mkc is split into three packages:

1. makecode-core - which contains most of the functionality/shared code
2. makecode-node - which contains the node CLI (this is the package that is installed via npm install makecode)
3. makecode-browser - which contains a browser implementation of the mkc language service

Building

• install node.js
• run npm install from the root of this repo (this will also link the local packages)
• start the build watch in makecode-core and makecode-node:
  • (run these in separate terminals)
  • cd packages/makecode-core && npm run watch
  • cd packages/makecode-node && npm run watch
• run node path/to/pxt-mkc/packages/makecode-node/makecode in your project folder

If you want to test out changes in pxt, first run the build as usual, and then replace $HOME/.pxt/mkc-cache/https_58__47__47_<your-editor>-pxtworker.js with pxt/built/web/pxtworker.js. Make sure to run makecode tool without the -u option.

Releases

To release a package, run the following script to create+push a tagged release:

node ./scripts/release.js bump makecode-core

After bumping core, to update the CLI package

• update the core version in the package.json of makecode-node
• then node ./scripts/release.js bump makecode-node

Contributing

This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.opensource.microsoft.com.

When you submit a pull request, a CLA bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., status check, comment). Simply follow the instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repos using our CLA.

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact opencode@microsoft.com with any additional questions or comments.

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