IDE_INTEGRATION.md

IDE Integration

The --ide flag outputs comprehensive metadata about all available functions, making it easy to build IDE plugins, autocomplete systems, and documentation generators.

Output Formats

# JSON output (array of function metadata)
tmpltool --ide json > functions.json

# YAML output (list of function metadata)
tmpltool --ide yaml > functions.yaml

# TOML output (wrapped in [[functions]] array)
tmpltool --ide toml > functions.toml

Metadata Structure

Each function includes:

Field	Description
name	Function name (e.g., get_env, md5)
category	Category grouping (e.g., environment, hash, string)
description	What the function does
arguments	Array of argument definitions with name, type, required flag, default value, and description
return_type	Type of value returned
examples	Usage examples showing both function and filter syntax where applicable
syntax.function	Whether callable as func(arg=value)
syntax.filter	Whether callable as value | filter
syntax.is_test	Whether usable in {% if value is test %}

Example Output (JSON)

[
  {
    "name": "get_env",
    "category": "environment",
    "description": "Get environment variable with optional default value",
    "arguments": [
      {
        "name": "name",
        "arg_type": "string",
        "required": true,
        "default": null,
        "description": "Environment variable name"
      },
      {
        "name": "default",
        "arg_type": "string",
        "required": false,
        "default": null,
        "description": "Default value if variable is not set"
      }
    ],
    "return_type": "string",
    "examples": [
      "{{ get_env(name=\"HOME\") }}",
      "{{ get_env(name=\"PORT\", default=\"8080\") }}"
    ],
    "syntax": {
      "function": true,
      "filter": false,
      "is_test": false
    }
  }
]

Use Cases

• IDE Plugins: Provide autocomplete suggestions with argument hints and documentation
• Language Servers: Power hover documentation and signature help
• Documentation Generators: Automatically generate function reference documentation
• Validation Tools: Verify template function usage against available functions
• CI/CD Integration: Generate function lists for pipeline documentation