DroidNet Command Library

droidnet-command-library

A small, dependency-free engine + visual composer for building serial commands to control a vibrant community of Astromech droid components from structured, schema-driven definitions. Anyone can add support for their board by editing a JSON library — no code changes required for the common case.

This is a standalone project in the DroidNet universe — not part of any one product. DroidNet Signal Booster is one consumer — it powers the Signal Booster's visual WCB command builder — but the library is independent and meant to be used by any app or droid, with the community growing a shared catalog of boards.

▶️ Try it live — no install

• Open the Command Composer → — build a serial command string in your browser, drag steps to reorder, and copy it straight into your WCB config or serial monitor.
• Browse the Board Reference → — search every board and command in the catalog, with copy-ready examples.

Both run entirely in the browser off this repo — nothing to install.

 Board library (JSON)            droidnet-command-library            droidnet-command-library-ui
 ─────────────────────           ───────────────────             ──────────────────
 components / commands  ──load──▶  encode / parse / match  ──▶  inline step composer
 enums / templates                round-trip wire strings       (drag-reorder, no modal)

Why

Most "command builders" hard-code every board's grammar in the app. This one moves the grammar into data: a per-board JSON file describes each board's commands as templates with typed parameters, and the engine turns structured steps into wire strings (and back). Adding a board is a pull request against a JSON file that CI validates — not a code change.

Quick start

Browser (drop-in, no build step)

<script src="src/droidnet-command-library.js"></script>
<script src="src/droidnet-command-library-ui.js"></script>
<script>
  const base = 'libraries/';
  fetch(base + 'manifest.json')
    .then(r => r.json())
    .then(m => Promise.all(m.boards.map(b => fetch(base + b.file).then(r => r.json())))
      .then(boards => {
        DroidNetCommandLibrary.loadLibrary(boards, { libraryVersion: m.libraryVersion });
        DroidNetCommandLibraryUI.renderComposer(
          document.getElementById('host'),
          'A007^*** Flthy Rainbow',
          { onChange: (wire) => console.log(wire) }
        );
      }));
</script>

Node / bundler

const DroidNetCommandLibrary = require('droidnet-command-library');
require('droidnet-command-library/node-loader').loadCatalog(); // reads manifest + boards, merges, loads

const solid = DroidNetCommandLibrary.getCommand('flthy.led.solid');
DroidNetCommandLibrary.encode(solid, { designator: 'A', color: '5' }, {}); // 'A0065'
DroidNetCommandLibrary.match('A0065'); // { commandId: 'flthy.led.solid', params: {...} }

See docs/INTEGRATION_GUIDE.md for the full API.

Hosted composer

A ready-to-use visual composer and board reference are served straight from this repo via GitHub Pages:

• Composer — https://travisccook.github.io/Droidnet-Command-Library/index.html
• Board reference — https://travisccook.github.io/Droidnet-Command-Library/reference.html

Build a sequence of steps, copy the resulting serial string, and paste it into your WCB web config or a serial monitor. The pages load the engine and the libraries/ catalog directly, so a merged board JSON shows up on the site with no separate deploy.

Pages setup (maintainers): already enabled — Deploy from a branch → main → / (root). The site is static (no build); a .nojekyll file keeps Pages from processing files.

Adding or editing a board

Edit or add a board file under libraries/boards/<id>.json (and list it in libraries/manifest.json), then validate:

npm install
npm run validate     # schema + cross-reference checks
npm test             # round-trip + encode/decode tests

The full walkthrough — schema, a worked example, and custom encoders — is in docs/BOARD_AUTHORING_GUIDE.md. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the PR process.

What's here

Path	What
src/droidnet-command-library.js	The engine (pure, no DOM). window.DroidNetCommandLibrary / CommonJS.
src/droidnet-command-library-ui.js	The inline visual composer. window.DroidNetCommandLibraryUI.
schema/library.schema.json	The formal JSON Schema for a board library.
scripts/validate.js	npm run validate — structural + semantic validation.
libraries/manifest.json	Catalog entry point — ordered board list + catalog libraryVersion.
libraries/boards/	One self-contained file per board. Add yours here and list it in the manifest.
src/load-node.js	Node helper: read the manifest + boards and merge them (node-loader export).
releases.json	Update manifest consumed by host apps' "Update Library" flows.
docs/	Integration guide + board authoring guide.

Versioning

The catalog's semver libraryVersion lives in libraries/manifest.json. Host applications compare it against releases.json to offer one-click library updates without shipping a full application update. Bump it on every catalog change (see the authoring guide).

License

MPL-2.0. You can use this commercially and link it from closed code; improvements to the library's own files stay open. Contributed board definitions are licensed under the same terms.