blocrun

A simple CLI tool to define and control groups of commands using block syntax in a `BLOCFILE`. It lets you start and stop named command groups with automatic PID tracking and process control.

✨ Features

• Block-based grouping of commands
• Easily run or kill a named group of tasks
• Track background or sustained processes (e.g. GUI apps, dev servers)
• Command-type prefix system for flexible control

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📦 Installation

npm install -g blocrun

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📂 File Structure

Create a BLOCFILE in your project root. This file defines blocks of commands:

dev {
  @ code .
  % vite
  $ echo "Development server launched"
}

build {
  % npm run build
}

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🔣 Prefix Symbols

Symbol	Description	Tracked
@	Sustained (servers, terminal commands, etc)	✅ Yes
%	Tracked but auto-closing jobs (e.g. build)	✅ Yes
$	One-off commands (not tracked e.g. gui app)	❌ No

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🚀 Usage

Run a block

blocrun run <block-name>

Example:

blocrun run dev

If the block is already running, it will not run again.

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Kill a block

blocrun kill <block-name>

This command:

• Terminates all tracked processes for the block
• Cleans up the .blocks PID tracking file

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📁 File Summary

• BLOCFILE — Your command block definitions
• .blocks — Internal file storing tracked PIDs

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📘 Full Example: BLOCFILE

dev {
  @ code .
  % npm run dev
  $ echo "Started successfully"
}

build {
  % vite build
}

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💡 When to use each symbol

• @ — GUI or server that should stay alive (cmd /k, VSCode, etc.)
• % — Script or tool that ends on its own (e.g. vite build)
• $ — Logging or setup scripts you don’t need to track

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🧠 Why use blocrun?

• Simpler than shell scripts
• Safer than PM2 for dev use
• Works on Windows/macOS/Linux
• Better UX for managing grouped tasks

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🧩 License

License here.