wheels generate code

wheels generate code

Generate code snippets and boilerplate code for common Wheels patterns.

Synopsis

wheels generate code [pattern] [options]
wheels g code [pattern] [options]

Description

The wheels generate code command creates code snippets for common Wheels patterns and best practices. It provides ready-to-use code blocks that can be customized for your specific needs, helping you implement standard patterns quickly and consistently.

Arguments

Argument	Description	Default
pattern	Code pattern to generate	Shows available patterns

Options

Option	Description	Valid Values	Default
--list	List all available code snippets	true/false	false
--category	Filter by category	authentication, model, controller, view, database	All categories
--output	Output format	console, file	console
--path	Output file path (required when output=file)	Any valid file path
--customize	Show customization options	true/false	false
--create	Create custom code template	true/false	false
--force	Overwrite existing files	true/false	false

Available Code Snippets

List All Code Snippets

wheels generate code --list

Output:

==================================================
                Available Code Snippets
==================================================

Authentication:
  - login-form - Login form with remember me
  - auth-filter - Authentication filter
  - password-reset - Password reset flow
  - user-registration - User registration with validation

Model:
  - soft-delete - Soft delete implementation
  - audit-trail - Audit trail with timestamps
  - sluggable - URL-friendly slugs
  - versionable - Version tracking
  - searchable - Full-text search

Controller:
  - crud-actions - Complete CRUD actions
  - api-controller - JSON API controller
  - nested-resource - Nested resource controller
  - admin-controller - Admin area controller

View:
  - form-with-errors - Form with error handling
  - pagination-links - Pagination navigation
  - search-form - Search form with filters
  - ajax-form - AJAX form submission

Database:
  - migration-indexes - Common index patterns
  - seed-data - Database seeding
  - constraints - Foreign key constraints


Next steps:
   1. Generate a code snippet: wheels g code <pattern-name>

Authentication Snippets

Login Form

wheels generate code login-form

Generates:

#startFormTag(action="create")#
  #textField(objectName="user", property="email", label="Email")#
  #passwordField(objectName="user", property="password", label="Password")#
  #checkBox(objectName="user", property="rememberMe", label="Remember me")#
  #submitTag(value="Login")#
#endFormTag()#

Note: This is a basic snippet. You can customize it by saving to a file and editing:

wheels generate code login-form --output=file --path=app/views/sessions/new.cfm

Authentication Filter

wheels generate code auth-filter

Generates:

function init() {
  filters(through="authenticate", except="new,create");
}

private function authenticate() {
  if (!StructKeyExists(session, "userId")) {
    redirectTo(route="login");
  }
}

Password Reset

wheels generate code password-reset

Generates:

function requestReset() {
  user = model("User").findOne(where="email='#params.email#'");
  if (IsObject(user)) {
    token = Hash(CreateUUID());
    user.update(resetToken=token, resetExpiresAt=DateAdd("h", 1, Now()));
    // Send email with token
  }
}

User Registration

wheels generate code user-registration

Generates:

#startFormTag(action="create")#
  #textField(objectName="user", property="firstName", label="First Name")#
  #textField(objectName="user", property="email", label="Email")#
  #passwordField(objectName="user", property="password", label="Password")#
  #submitTag(value="Register")#
#endFormTag()#

Model Patterns

Soft Delete

wheels generate code soft-delete

Generates:

function init() {
  property(name="deletedAt", sql="deleted_at");
  beforeDelete("softDelete");
}

private function softDelete() {
  this.deletedAt = Now();
  this.save(validate=false, callbacks=false);
  return false;
}

Audit Trail

wheels generate code audit-trail

Generates:

function init() {
  property(name="createdBy", sql="created_by");
  property(name="updatedBy", sql="updated_by");
  beforeSave("setAuditFields");
}

private function setAuditFields() {
  if (StructKeyExists(session, "userId")) {
    if (this.isNew()) this.createdBy = session.userId;
    this.updatedBy = session.userId;
  }
}

Sluggable

wheels generate code sluggable

Generates:

function init() {
  property(name="slug");
  beforeSave("generateSlug");
}

private function generateSlug() {
  if (!len(this.slug) && len(this.title)) {
    this.slug = lCase(reReplace(this.title, "[^a-zA-Z0-9]", "-", "all"));
  }
}

Versionable

wheels generate code versionable

Generates:

function init() {
  property(name="version", default=1);
  beforeUpdate("incrementVersion");
}

private function incrementVersion() {
  this.version = this.version + 1;
}

Searchable

wheels generate code searchable

Generates:

function search(required string query) {
  return findAll(where="title LIKE '%#arguments.query#%' OR content LIKE '%#arguments.query#%'");
}

Controller Patterns

CRUD Actions

wheels generate code crud-actions

Generates:

function index() {
  users = model("User").findAll();
}

function show() {
  user = model("User").findByKey(params.key);
}

function create() {
  user = model("User").create(params.user);
  if (user.valid()) {
    redirectTo(route="user", key=user.id);
  } else {
    renderView(action="new");
  }
}

API Controller

wheels generate code api-controller

Generates:

function init() {
  provides("json");
}

function index() {
  users = model("User").findAll();
  renderWith(data={users=users});
}

Nested Resource

wheels generate code nested-resource

Generates:

function init() {
  filters(through="findParent");
}

private function findParent() {
  user = model("User").findByKey(params.userId);
}

Admin Controller

wheels generate code admin-controller

Generates:

function init() {
  filters(through="requireAdmin");
}

private function requireAdmin() {
  if (!currentUser().isAdmin()) {
    redirectTo(route="home");
  }
}

View Patterns

Form with Errors

wheels generate code form-with-errors

Generates:

#errorMessagesFor("user")#

#startFormTag(action="create")#
  #textField(objectName="user", property="firstName", label="First Name")#
  <cfif user.errors("firstName").len()>
    <span class="error">#user.errors("firstName").get()#</span>
  </cfif>
  #submitTag(value="Submit")#
#endFormTag()#

Pagination Links

wheels generate code pagination-links

Generates:

<cfif users.totalPages gt 1>
  <nav>
    <cfif users.currentPage gt 1>
      #linkTo(text="Previous", params={page: users.currentPage - 1})#
    </cfif>
    <cfloop from="1" to="#users.totalPages#" index="pageNum">
      #linkTo(text=pageNum, params={page: pageNum})#
    </cfloop>
    <cfif users.currentPage lt users.totalPages>
      #linkTo(text="Next", params={page: users.currentPage + 1})#
    </cfif>
  </nav>
</cfif>

Search Form

wheels generate code search-form

Generates:

#startFormTag(method="get")#
  #textField(name="q", value=params.q, placeholder="Search...")#
  #submitTag(value="Search")#
#endFormTag()#

AJAX Form

wheels generate code ajax-form

Generates:

#startFormTag(action="create", id="userForm")#
  #textField(objectName="user", property="name")#
  #submitTag(value="Submit")#
#endFormTag()#

<script>
$("#userForm").submit(function(e) {
  e.preventDefault();
  $.post($(this).attr("action"), $(this).serialize());
});
</script>

Database Snippets

Migration Indexes

wheels generate code migration-indexes

Generates:

t.index("email");
t.index(["last_name", "first_name"]);
t.index("email", unique=true);
t.index("user_id");

Seed Data

wheels generate code seed-data

Generates:

execute("INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ('Admin', 'admin@example.com')");

Constraints

wheels generate code constraints

Generates:

t.references("user_id", "users");
t.references("category_id", "categories");

Custom Code Snippets

Create Custom Code Snippet

wheels generate code --create my-custom-snippet

This creates a directory structure in app/snippets/my-custom-snippet/:

my-custom-snippet/
└── template.txt

You can then edit the template file and use your custom code snippet:

wheels generate code my-custom-snippet

Output Options

Output to Console (Default)

wheels generate code login-form
# or explicitly:
wheels generate code login-form --output=console

Save to File

wheels generate code api-controller --output=file --path=app/controllers/Api.cfc

Use --force to overwrite existing files:

wheels generate code api-controller --output=file --path=app/controllers/Api.cfc --force

Customization Options

wheels generate code [pattern] --customize

Shows available customization options for code snippets.

Filter by Category

List code snippets from a specific category:

wheels generate code --list --category=model
wheels generate code --list --category=authentication
wheels generate code --list --category=controller
wheels generate code --list --category=view
wheels generate code --list --category=database

Best Practices

1. Review generated code: Customize for your needs
2. Understand the patterns: Don’t blindly copy
3. Keep snippets updated: Maintain with framework updates
4. Share useful patterns: Contribute back to community
5. Document customizations: Note changes made
6. Test generated code: Ensure it works in your context
7. Use consistent patterns: Across your application

See Also

• wheels generate controller - Generate controllers
• wheels generate model - Generate models
• wheels scaffold - Generate complete resources