cli

introduction

dframework includes a command line interface accessible via the dstrn binary. it provides commands for scaffolding new projects, managing the database, generating application files, analyzing architecture, and running an interactive shell.

1dstrn help

available commands

scaffolding

database

generators

system

native

architecture

creating a project

the init command scaffolds a new project with the standard directory structure, a default configuration file, a sample route, and a basic view.

1dstrn init my-app

passing the --ai flag includes agentic documentation helpers in the generated project.

1dstrn init my-app --ai

running the server

the serve command starts the application server in the current directory.

1dstrn serve

this loads the application configuration, imports all route files, boots the socket server, starts the scheduler, and begins listening for http requests. the startup banner displays the application url and port.

tinker

the tinker command opens an interactive shell with the full application context loaded. all models are automatically imported and available as globals.

1dstrn tinker

1dframework> const users = await User.all();
2dframework> users.length
342
4dframework> await User.where('role', 'admin').get();

the shell persists command history to .tinker_history in your project root. all framework facades (DB, Config, Session, Auth, Log, etc.) are available in the context.

user commands

creating a command

scaffold a new command file using the make:command generator.

1dstrn make:command PruneExpiredSessions

this creates console/commands/PruneExpiredSessions.js. the generated file exports a class with a handle() method where you write the command logic. the command has access to all framework globals.

1export default class PruneExpiredSessions {
2  async handle() {
3    const cutoff = new Date(Date.now() - 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
4    await DB.table('sessions').where('updated_at', '<', cutoff).delete();
5    Log.info('expired sessions pruned');
6  }
7}

running a command

execute any command from console/commands using the run command.

1dstrn run PruneExpiredSessions

dframework imports the command class, instantiates it, calls handle(), and reports the elapsed execution time on completion.

commands are also used by the scheduler. any command referenced in console/Schedule.js is resolved from the same console/commands directory.

logs management

the logs:clear command provides flexible log file management with date range filtering, environment targeting, archiving, and a preview mode.

1dstrn logs:clear
2dstrn logs:clear --env=prod
3dstrn logs:clear --before=2026-01-01
4dstrn logs:clear --after=2026-05-01 --archive
5dstrn logs:clear --preview

architecture analyzer

dframework includes a static analysis engine that builds a complete dependency graph of your application. it powers the graph, lint, dead, and doctor commands.

dependency graph

the graph command generates a visual representation of how your application is wired. it shows every http route and socket wire, the controllers they dispatch to, the middleware they pass through, and the models those controllers depend on.

1dstrn graph

1get /users (users.index)
2 └─ AuthMiddleware
3 └─ UserController (User)
4     └─ index()
5 
6post /users (users.store)
7 └─ AuthMiddleware
8 └─ UserController (User)
9     └─ store()
10 
11chat:message
12 └─ AuthMiddleware
13 └─ ChatController (Message)
14     └─ onMessage()

for machine readable output, pass the --json flag.

1dstrn graph --json

this outputs the full graph as a json object with nodes and edges arrays, suitable for external visualization tools.

architecture lint

the lint command detects structural violations in your application. it enforces the following dependency rules:

• controllers may not depend on other controllers
• models may not depend on controllers
• middleware may not depend on controllers
• routes may not depend directly on models

1dstrn lint

if violations are found, each one is printed with a description.

1 ERROR  controller UserController depends on controller AdminController
2  controllers may not depend on controllers

dead code detection

the dead command performs reachability analysis starting from all registered routes and socket wires. it traverses the dependency graph and reports any controllers, models, or middleware that are never referenced by any route.

1dstrn dead

1 ERROR  found 2 unreachable components
2 
3unused controller
4  LegacyController
5 
6unused model
7  TempModel

database tables are excluded from the analysis since they may be accessed through raw queries.

project doctor

the doctor command computes a quality score from 0 to 100 based on three factors:

• architecture violations - each violation deducts 10 points, up to a maximum of 40
• dead code - each unreachable component deducts 5 points, up to a maximum of 30
• complexity - if the average number of edges per node exceeds 4, additional points are deducted based on the excess

1dstrn doctor

1 OK  health score 95 out of 100
2 
3deductions
4  dead code minus 5 (1 unreachable components)

scores of 90 and above are displayed as success, 70-89 as informational, and below 70 as an error.

the compiler

dframework includes a build time compiler that bundles and minifies the frontend runtime assets.

javascript compilation

the js compiler concatenates the framework's core client side files (the main runtime, native bridge, custom elements, and utility functions), along with any user defined component files found in public/js/components. the combined output is minified with three compression passes, function name mangling, and toplevel mangling. the result is written to public/js/dstrn.js.

in the local environment with debug mode enabled, the __DF_DEBUG__ global is set to true, enabling debug only code paths in the client runtime. in production, these paths are eliminated during dead code elimination.

css compilation

the css compiler concatenates the framework's base styles, utility classes, icon font, and component styles. it then generates responsive variants for each utility class across six breakpoints (sm, md, lg, xl, xxl, ultra) using the prefix\:classname pattern. user defined component css files from public/css/components are included in the output.

the final output is minified by stripping comments, collapsing whitespace, removing unnecessary semicolons, and eliminating zero unit suffixes. the result is written to public/css/dstrn.css.