Vortex CLI

Vortex CLI is a command line alternative to the Puakma Vortex IDE that simplifies the process of developing Puakma Applications on a Puakma Tornado Server using Visual Studio Code. It allows you to clone applications from the server to a local workspace, edit the files using Visual Studio Code, and automatically upload changes to the server as you work.

Vortex CLI also comes pre-packaged with the necessary Puakma .jar files for development.

Visual Studio Code and Extensions

While it is possible to use without it, this software has been purposefully designed for use with Visual Studio Code and the Project Manager For Java or the Extension Pack For Java extension. This software leverages Workspaces in Visual Studio Code and manages a vortex.code-workspace file within the workspace.

Installation

1. Install the tool using pip.

   pip install vortex-cli
   

2. It is recommended to set the workspace you would like to work out of via the VORTEX_HOME environment variable.

   On Unix:

   export VORTEX_HOME=/path/to/workspace
   

   Otherwise, Vortex CLI will use a default 'vortex-cli-workspace' directory inside your home directory.

3. Run vortex with the --init flag to create your workspace (If it doesn't already exist) and the necessary config files:

   vortex --init
   

4. Define the servers you will be working with in the servers.ini file inside the .config directory within your workspace. You can quickly access this using the code command to view your workspace in VSCode.

   vortex code
   

   In the servers.ini file, you can define as many servers as you need, each with their own unique name. For example:

   [DEFAULT] ; This section is optional and only useful if you have multiple definitions
   port = 80 ; Options provided under DEFAULT will be applied to all definitions if not provided
   soap_path = system/SOAPDesigner.pma
   default = server1 ; Useful when you have multiple definitions
   
   
   [server1] ; This can be called whatever you want and can be referenced using the '--server' flag
   host = example.com
   port = 8080 ; we can overwrite the DEFAULT value
   puakma_db_conn_id = 13
   username = myuser ; Optional - Prompted at runtime if not provided
   password = mypassword ; Optional - Prompted at runtime if not provided
   ; Optional
   clone_with_resources = html,css,js ; resources with these extensions are always cloned - 'clone --get-resources' still clones ALL resources
   lib_path = ; optional extra jars to add to the classpath (the server's own jars are downloaded automatically - see 'vortex libs')
   workspace_folders = ~/dev/shared,notes ; extra folders to mount in the generated .code-workspace files. Relative paths resolve against the workspace root. Under [DEFAULT] they are added to every workspace; here they apply to this server's workspace (and the global one)
   java_home = /usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-amd64/ ; The local path to the JRE to use. Should be the same version running on your server
   java_environment_name = JavaSE-17 ; Java Execution Environment name https://docs.osgi.org/reference/eenames.html
   

Upgrading to 5.0

5.0 changes some defaults you may rely on:

• resource_ext_only is replaced by clone_with_resources - and the meaning flipped. Previously the extensions restricted what --get-resources cloned. Now resources with the listed extensions are always cloned, and --get-resources clones every resource unfiltered. Rename the key in servers.ini (vortex warns while the old key is present).
• vortex watch now watches every cloned app across all servers and uploads each change to the server it was cloned from. Use --server for the old single-server behaviour, and mark production definitions protected = true so they are never watched by accident.
• vortex compile now uses the Eclipse compiler (ecj) - the same compiler the VS Code Java extension uses - downloaded once per workspace. --javac PATH forces javac. compile --upload is now a full refresh (uploads every compiled class, not just changed ones).
• find, grep and vortex list --local now search all cloned apps unless --server is given, and ID-taking commands infer their server from local clones (see below).

Usage

For a full list of commands see --help.

Command Overview

• code: Open the workspace in Visual Studio Code (-s <server> opens that server's own workspace with exactly its jars on the Java classpath).
• use: Set the default server so you don't need to pass --server on every command. e.g. vortex use production
• list (or ls): List Puakma Applications on the server or cloned locally. (ls is an alias for vortex list --local)
• clone: Clone Puakma Applications and their design objects into the workspace. Apps can be referenced by ID (vortex clone 13), by TemplateName (vortex clone bettrackr_app), or by group/name (vortex clone bettrackr/app) - all optionally server-qualified (dev:13, dev:bettrackr/app).
• watch: Watch the workspace for changes to Design Objects and automatically upload them to the server each app was cloned from. Watches all servers at once unless --server is given.
• clean: Delete the locally cloned Puakma Application directories in the workspace.
• config: View and manage configuration.
• log: View the server log.
• find: Find Design Objects of cloned applications by name.
• grep: Search the contents of cloned Design Objects using a Regular Expression.
• new: Create new Design Objects, Applications, or Keywords. Use --update <ID> to update instead. Run without flags to launch an interactive wizard.
• copy: Copy a Design Object from one application to another.
• delete: Delete Design Objects by ID.
• db: Interact with Database Connections. Accepts --server/-s like other commands for one-off queries against another server.
• schema: Manage the Puakma data dictionary (PMATABLE/ATTRIBUTE): record table/column definitions and print the DDL to run by hand. Never executes DDL.
• compile (or build): Compile an application's Java Design Objects into zbin/ using the Eclipse compiler (ecj).
• libs: Show or refresh the per-server Java library cache (each server's puakma.jar and shared libraries, downloaded from the server itself).
• agent: Generate agent/editor support files (CLAUDE.md, Puakma skills, code snippets) in the workspace.
• docs: Open the Tornado Server Blackbook.
• execute: Execute a command on the server.

Working with Multiple Servers

Each section in servers.ini defines a server (hosts must be unique across sections). Cloned apps remember which server they came from, so you can work on apps from several servers at the same time:

• vortex watch watches every cloned app and uploads each change to the server it was cloned from. One terminal, all servers. Log lines are prefixed with the server name (e.g. [dev] Upload DATA of ...). Use --server to watch a single server only.
• Commands that take IDs (clone, export, compile, delete, copy) work out the server on their own: IDs can be qualified as SERVER:ID (e.g. vortex export dev:123), and unqualified IDs are resolved against your locally cloned apps. If an ID exists on more than one server, vortex stops and asks rather than guessing.
• find, grep and vortex list --local search across all cloned apps unless --server is given.
• watch, clone and clean take a workspace-wide lock: only one watch at a time, and cloning or cleaning is refused while a watch is running (stop the watch first - a clone under a running watch adds directories the watcher doesn't know about). Finer-grained commands that alter design elements (delete, copy, new, compile --upload) lock per-application: they are refused for apps a watch is watching and run concurrently otherwise.
• In VS Code, app folders are listed in per-server blocks (dev: group/app, ...) with the server's jars on the Java classpath (see them in the Java Projects view). vscode-java's classpath settings are window-scoped - folder-level settings are ignored - so the global workspace unions every server's jars (version clashes between servers are possible there). For a guaranteed-correct classpath, open a single server's own workspace with vortex code -s <server> (generated as .vscode/<server>.code-workspace, containing only that server's apps and exactly its jars).

vortex use <server> still sets the default server for commands that have no IDs to infer from (list, log, db, execute, new):

vortex use production
vortex list

Credentials

username/password can be left out of servers.ini. Each server's credentials resolve in this order and are only requested when a command actually connects to that server:

1. The system keyring - store with vortex config --set-password -s <server> (requires pip install keyring)
2. Per-server environment variables VORTEX_USERNAME_<SERVER> / VORTEX_PASSWORD_<SERVER> (e.g. VORTEX_PASSWORD_DEV)
3. VORTEX_USERNAME / VORTEX_PASSWORD
4. An interactive prompt naming the server

Protected Servers

Set protected = true on a server definition (e.g. production) to make it hard to change by accident:

• Write operations (delete, copy, new, import, db --update, execute, schema changes, compile --upload) require the server name to be typed back to continue. This is deliberately not bypassed by --yes.
• vortex watch skips protected servers unless --include-protected is given, so saving a file can never hot-deploy to production by accident.

Interactive Wizards

Run vortex new object or vortex new app without any flags to launch a step-by-step wizard:

vortex new object
# → pick app from locally cloned list
# → pick design type
# → enter name
# → enter content type (resource/documentation only)
# → enter parent page, open action, save action (page only)
# → preview and confirm

vortex new app
# → enter name
# → pick from existing groups or enter a new one
# → enter description (optional)
# → preview and confirm

Skipping Confirmation Prompts

Pass --yes (or -y) to skip Y/y confirmation prompts, useful for scripting:

vortex --yes delete 123 456
vortex -y new object --name MyAction --app-id 10 --type action

Note: --yes never bypasses the typed confirmation for servers marked protected = true.

Compiling Java Design Objects

vortex compile (alias build) compiles an application's Java Design Objects into zbin/ with the Eclipse compiler (ecj) - the same compiler the VS Code Java extension uses, downloaded once per workspace into config/.tools/. It runs via the java from java_home in the server config, then $JAVA_HOME, then PATH; --release is derived from the application's Java class version. ecj matters because Tornado loads each class from its own design element: '$' classes (Foo$1.class) are never uploaded to the server, and unlike javac, ecj compiles a switch over an enum into the class itself rather than a synthetic Foo$1.class. Classes that still produce $ files (genuine anonymous/inner classes) are reported and excluded from upload - they would throw NoClassDefFoundError on the server. If ecj can't be downloaded (offline), javac is used with a warning; --javac PATH forces javac explicitly.

vortex compile              # compile all locally cloned apps for the server
vortex compile 13           # compile one app
vortex compile 13 --upload  # also upload ALL compiled classes (full server refresh)

While vortex watch is running, --upload isn't needed: saving a Java source uploads the SOURCE, and the VS Code Java extension's incremental build (which is the Eclipse compiler, ecj - the same compiler vortex compile downloads) writes the class files into zbin/, where watch picks them up and uploads the DATA - always, even when the bytes are unchanged, so a source change is always paired with its class on the server. '$' nested-class files are never uploaded - a class compiled alongside $ siblings is refused with an error since it would fail on the server. Use vortex compile for full-application rebuilds without the IDE.

Server-Provided Java Libraries

Compilation and IDE IntelliSense need the Puakma framework jar and the server's shared libraries on the classpath. Instead of maintaining local copies, vortex downloads them from each server's webdesign application (the vortex API's systemjar and libraries endpoints) and caches them per server under <workspace>/<host>/.lib/:

• The cache is filled automatically the first time it's needed - on clone, watch and compile - and never re-downloaded unless you ask.
• vortex libs shows what's cached for each server; vortex libs --refresh re-downloads (add -s <server> for one server), e.g. after a server upgrade.
• javac (via vortex compile) and each app folder's VS Code Java settings use the app's own server's cached jars, so identical class names on different servers/versions never cross-contaminate.
• Servers whose webdesign app doesn't provide the vortex API yet fall back to the puakma.jar bundled with vortex-cli plus any lib_path entries, with a warning.
• vortex clean keeps each host's .lib cache so the jars don't need re-downloading; pass --include-libs to remove them as well.

Managing the Data Dictionary

vortex schema records design-time table and column definitions in the Puakma data dictionary (the PMATABLE/ATTRIBUTE tables, which also back vortex db --schema) and prints the matching DDL for you to run by hand. It never executes DDL, and deletes only remove dictionary rows - never real tables or columns.

vortex schema mydb --add-table invoice --description "Customer invoices"
vortex schema mydb --add-column invoice invoice_id --type BIGINT --pk --auto-increment
vortex schema mydb --add-column invoice total --type NUMERIC --size 10,2 --not-null
vortex schema mydb --add-column invoice customer_id --type BIGINT --ref customer.customer_id
vortex schema mydb --ddl invoice    # print CREATE TABLE from the dictionary

Agent Support Files

vortex agent copies bundled support files into the workspace .vscode directory so they are included in the generated code-workspace: an AGENTS.md with Puakma ground rules for coding agents (including pointers to the bundled Blackbook v2 architecture reference), a CLAUDE.md that points Claude Code at AGENTS.md, a .claude/skills/ library covering Puakma development and the vortex workflow, and a vortex.code-snippets file with common Puakma Java/HTML snippets. Existing files are never overwritten, so they are safe to customise. These files are also generated automatically on vortex --init and before vortex code opens the workspace.

Workspaces created before AGENTS.md existed keep their full CLAUDE.md (existing files are never touched); the new AGENTS.md is simply added alongside it.