<!--
SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2024 Dala contributors <https://github.com/manhvu/dala/graphs/contributors>
SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
-->
# DalaNew
[](https://github.com/manhvu/dala/actions/workflows/elixir.yml)
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
[](https://hex.pm/packages/dala_new)
[](https://hexdocs.pm/dala_new)
[](https://deepwiki.com/manhvu/dala)
Project generator for the [Dala](https://hexdocs.pm/dala) mobile framework. Installs a global `mix dala.new` command to generate native SwiftUI/Compose apps or LiveView-wrapped mobile projects.
Original repo [mob_new](https://github.com/GenericJam/mob_new)
## For end-users
### Installation
`dala_new` is a Mix archive — install it globally, not as a project dependency:
```bash
mix archive.install hex dala_new
```
### Usage
```bash
mix dala.new my_app
cd my_app
mix dala.install # first-run setup: download OTP runtime, generate icons, write dala.exs
```
### Options
| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `--ios` | Generate iOS boilerplate only (skip `android/`) |
| `--android` | Generate Android boilerplate only (skip `ios/`) |
| `--liveview` | Wrap a Phoenix LiveView app in a Dala WebView (combines with `--ios` / `--android`) |
| `--no-install` | Skip `mix deps.get` after generation |
| `--dest DIR` | Create the project in DIR (default: current directory) |
| `--local` | Use `path:` deps pointing to local dala/dala_dev repos — see below |
| `--no-ios` | Alias for `--android` (skip iOS boilerplate) |
| `--no-android` | Alias for `--ios` (skip Android boilerplate) |
`mix dala.install`, `mix dala.deploy`, and `mix dala.doctor` detect the project's
platform set from on-disk layout, so a single-platform project skips the
absent platform's setup automatically (no Android OTP download, no iOS
toolchain check, etc.).
### Local development mode (`--local`)
> **This flag is for Dala framework contributors and library authors testing
> unpublished changes. It is not intended for app developers — use the standard
> `mix dala.new my_app` instead.**
#### Installing the local dala_new archive
When working on dala_new itself, build and force-install the archive to pick up your changes:
```bash
cd ~/code/dala_new && mix archive.build && mix archive.install $(ls dala_new-*.ez | tail -1) --force
```
Verify it's active:
```bash
mix archive # dala_new should appear with the updated version
mix dala.new --help
```
If you are working on Dala itself and want to test your changes end-to-end
before publishing to Hex, pass `--local` to generate a project that depends on
your local checkouts instead of the published packages:
```bash
mix dala.new my_app --local
```
This generates `mix.exs` with `path:` deps:
```elixir
{:dala, path: "/path/to/dala"},
{:dala_dev, path: "/path/to/dala_dev", only: :dev, runtime: false}
```
It also pre-fills `dala.exs` with your actual local paths so `mix dala.install`
skips the path configuration prompts and proceeds straight to OTP download and
icon generation.
**Path resolution** (in order):
1. `DALA_DIR` / `DALA_DEV_DIR` environment variables
2. `./dala` / `./dala_dev` in the current directory (e.g. running from `~/code`)
3. `../dala` / `../dala_dev` relative to the current directory
```bash
# If dala and dala_dev live alongside each other in ~/code:
cd ~/code
mix dala.new my_app --local # auto-detects ~/code/dala and ~/code/dala_dev
# Or set explicitly from anywhere:
DALA_DIR=~/code/dala DALA_DEV_DIR=~/code/dala_dev mix dala.new my_app --local
```
## What gets generated
```
my_app/
├── mix.exs
├── lib/
│ └── my_app/
│ ├── app.ex # Dala.App entry point
│ └── home_screen.ex # starter screen
├── android/
│ ├── build.gradle
│ └── app/
│ └── src/main/
│ ├── AndroidManifest.xml
│ └── java/com/dala/my_app/MainActivity.java
└── ios/
├── beam_main.m
└── Info.plist
```
## Next steps after generation
First deploy (builds the native app and installs it):
```bash
mix dala.deploy --native
```
Day-to-day (hot-pushes changed BEAMs, no native rebuild):
```bash
mix dala.deploy # push + restart
mix dala.watch # auto-push on file save
mix dala.connect # open IEx connected to the running device node
```
## For contributors and library authors
### Building and installing locally
```bash
cd ~/code/dala_new
mix archive.build # produces dala_new-<version>.ez
mix archive.install dala_new-0.1.27.ez --force
mix archive # verify install
```
To publish a new version: bump `version:` in `mix.exs`, then
`mix hex.publish archive`.
### Testing
```bash
mix test # unit tests (fast)
mix test --include integration # also runs `mix phx.new` subprocesses (~minute)
```
The integration tests generate real LV projects in tmp dirs to verify the
end-to-end output. Worth running locally before publishing a new version.
### Project structure
Templates live at `priv/templates/dala.new/`, rendered with EEx by
`DalaNew.ProjectGenerator`. The LiveView path additionally runs `mix phx.new`
as a subprocess and patches the result via `DalaNew.LiveViewPatcher`.
## Documentation
Full guide at [hexdocs.pm/dala](https://hexdocs.pm/dala), including [Getting Started](https://hexdocs.pm/dala/getting_started.html), screen lifecycle, components, navigation, and live debugging.
