#Motif LESS compiler v1.3.0

A custom LESS compiler with the following features:

• File watching - watch for .less file changes and recompile the file and all it's dependants
• Global imports - Specify files to be imported into every LESS file
• Filtering - Add include or ignore filters for directories and files, using glob patterns
• Autoprefix - Auto browser prefixing, using the awesome Autoprefixer
• Bladerunner Themes - Built in support for BladerunnerJS themes

##Usage

• Install by running

  npm i -g dogoku/motif-less-compiler#1.3.0

• Then cd into the root of your application e.g. fxtrader for the FxMotif.

• Execute

  motif-less-compiler [arguments]

Note that: Only errors generate console output, successful runs produce no output.

##Configuration

The compiler accepts a number of arguments either passed from the command line or via a config file

###Command line arguments

####Example usage

Single letter arguments use one -. Everything else uses two -

motif-less-compiler -v --perforce

You can force booleans to false, by using no-

motif-less-compiler --no-watch

You can use declare the same argument multiple times for arrays

####Filter Patterns

We are using the minimatch glob matcher to power our directory and file filtering.

Matching is done against the absolute paths of files and directories, so write your glob patterns appropriately.

Here's a quick list with example filters

• **/styles/** - match all files that are under a styles directory or it's subfolders
• **/*.less - match all less files
• !**/_*.less - exclude all .less starting with an _

###Config file

The config file, must contain a single JSON object. The object's keys must match the CLI arguments' long format.

####Example usage with config file

motif-less-compiler -c path/to/my-config.js

Config.js

{
	"watch": false,
	"filterfolder":[ "**/.svn", "**/.git", "**/node_modules" ],
	"filterfiles": [ "**/styles/**",  "!**/_*.less"],
	"theme": "cotton",
	"globals":[
		"/default-aspect/themes/cotton/ontology/variables.less",
		"/default-aspect/themes/cotton/mixins.less"
	]
};

##Development

###Linking to npm

Remove any previously installed version

`npm r -g motif-less-compiler`

If you want to make a PR to the repo fork it.

• Clone the repo you wish to develop in. git clone <repo-url>

• Then cd into the repo directory.

• Once inside the repo directory run

  npm link

• Now when you execute motif-less-compiler your local cloned repo will be used.

• Work away.

###Debugging

In order to debug a nodejs app, you need to install Node Inspector

`npm install -g node-inspector`

Once node-inspector is installed you can debug the app, by running the CLI script using node-debug

`node-debug bin/motif-less-compiler-cli.js`

Keep in mind that all paths will be relative to your current working directory.

###Testing

Add any tests you have inside the test directory.

• Tests are setup to use Mocha as the test runner and Chai as the assertion library

To run the tests, cd to the repo directory and run

npm test

###Commiting changes

Simply fork the repo on github, make changes and create a Pull Request.

Here's a quick guide on how to do that

##Credits

###Third Party Libs

This project uses the following open source libraries. Check them out!

• Autoprefixer for cross browser awesomeness
• Bluebird for promises of hapiness
• Chokidar for file watching on steroids
• Dependency-Graph for keeping up with the dependencies
• minimatch for file filtering like a pro
• yargs for argument parsing sweeter than rum
• Mocha and Chai for testing

Made with <3 and lots of coffee by @briandipalma and @dogoku