CLI

The @alcops/core npm package provides a command-line tool for TFM detection and analyzer download. It works on any platform with Node.js 20+ and in any CI system (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, etc.).

The ALCops Azure DevOps extension uses this package internally. The CLI gives you the same capabilities without depending on a marketplace extension.

Installation

# Install globally
npm install -g @alcops/core

# Or run without installing
npx @alcops/core --help

Commands

`detect-tfm`

Detect the target framework moniker from a source:

# From VS Marketplace (latest stable AL Language)
alcops detect-tfm marketplace

# From VS Marketplace (pre-release channel)
alcops detect-tfm marketplace preview

# From NuGet DevTools (latest)
alcops detect-tfm nuget-devtools

# From NuGet DevTools (specific version)
alcops detect-tfm nuget-devtools 26.0.12345.0

# From a BC artifact URL
alcops detect-tfm bc-artifact "https://bcartifacts.azureedge.net/sandbox/26.0.12345.0/us"

# From a local compiler directory
alcops detect-tfm compiler-path ./path/to/compiler

Output (JSON on stdout):

{
  "tfm": "net8.0",
  "source": "marketplace",
  "details": "AL Language extension v14.0.12345"
}

`download`

Detect TFM and download analyzer DLLs in one step:

# Auto-detect from NuGet DevTools (latest)
alcops download --detect-using latest --output ./analyzers

# Auto-detect from a BC artifact URL
alcops download --detect-using "https://bcartifacts.azureedge.net/sandbox/26.0.12345.0/us" --output ./analyzers

# Force detection source
alcops download --detect-using preview --detect-from nuget-devtools --output ./analyzers

# Explicit TFM (skips detection)
alcops download --tfm net8.0 --output ./analyzers

# Specific ALCops version
alcops download --detect-using latest --output ./analyzers --version 1.0.0

# Verbose logging (logs on stderr)
alcops download --detect-using latest --output ./analyzers --verbose

Output (JSON on stdout):

{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "tfm": "net8.0",
  "outputDir": "/absolute/path/to/analyzers",
  "files": [
    "/absolute/path/to/analyzers/ALCops.ApplicationCop.dll",
    "/absolute/path/to/analyzers/ALCops.DocumentationCop.dll",
    "/absolute/path/to/analyzers/ALCops.FormattingCop.dll",
    "/absolute/path/to/analyzers/ALCops.LinterCop.dll",
    "/absolute/path/to/analyzers/ALCops.PlatformCop.dll",
    "/absolute/path/to/analyzers/ALCops.TestAutomationCop.dll",
    "/absolute/path/to/analyzers/ALCops.Common.dll"
  ]
}

CLI options

Option	Description
`--output <dir>`	Required for `download`. Directory to extract analyzer DLLs into.
`--detect-using <input>`	TFM detection input (URL, path, channel, or version).
`--detect-from <source>`	Force detection source: `bc-artifact`, `marketplace`, `nuget-devtools`, `compiler-path`.
`--tfm <tfm>`	Explicit TFM, skips auto-detection.
`--version <ver>`	ALCops package version: `latest` (default), `preview`, or pinned.
`--verbose`	Enable debug logging on stderr.
`--help`	Show help.

Piping output

Logs go to stderr, JSON results go to stdout. This makes the CLI pipe-friendly:

TFM=$(alcops detect-tfm marketplace | jq -r '.tfm')
echo "Building with TFM: $TFM"

OUTPUT_DIR=$(alcops download --detect-using latest --output ./analyzers | jq -r '.outputDir')
alc /project:. /analyzer:$OUTPUT_DIR/ALCops.LinterCop.dll

CI/CD examples

Azure DevOps (without the extension)

Use the CLI as an alternative to the ALCops extension:

steps:
  - task: NodeTool@0
    inputs:
      versionSpec: '20.x'

  - pwsh: |
      $result = npx @alcops/core download --detect-using latest --output ./analyzers | ConvertFrom-Json
      Write-Host "Downloaded ALCops $($result.version) for $($result.tfm)"
      Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=alcopsDir]$($result.outputDir)"
    displayName: Download ALCops Analyzers

  - pwsh: |
      dotnet al compile `
          "/project:$(Build.SourcesDirectory)" `
          "/analyzer:$(alcopsDir)/ALCops.LinterCop.dll" `
          "/analyzer:$(alcopsDir)/ALCops.ApplicationCop.dll" `
          "/analyzer:$(alcopsDir)/ALCops.Common.dll"
    displayName: Compile

GitHub Actions

- name: Download ALCops Analyzers
  id: alcops
  run: |
    result=$(npx @alcops/core download --detect-using latest --output ./analyzers)
    echo "dir=$(echo "$result" | jq -r '.outputDir')" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

- name: Compile
  run: |
    dotnet al compile \
      "/project:." \
      "/analyzer:${{ steps.alcops.outputs.dir }}/ALCops.LinterCop.dll" \
      "/analyzer:${{ steps.alcops.outputs.dir }}/ALCops.ApplicationCop.dll" \
      "/analyzer:${{ steps.alcops.outputs.dir }}/ALCops.Common.dll"

Generic shell script

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

# Download analyzers
result=$(npx @alcops/core download --detect-using latest --output ./analyzers)
output_dir=$(echo "$result" | jq -r '.outputDir')

# Build analyzer flags
analyzer_flags=""
for dll in "$output_dir"/ALCops.*.dll; do
  analyzer_flags="$analyzer_flags /analyzer:$dll"
done

# Compile
alc /project:. $analyzer_flags

Programmatic API

The package also exports TypeScript functions for use as a library:

import { download, createConsoleLogger } from '@alcops/core';

const logger = createConsoleLogger();
const result = await download({
  detectUsing: 'latest',
  output: './analyzers'
}, logger);

console.log(result.tfm);       // "net8.0"
console.log(result.outputDir); // "/absolute/path/to/analyzers"

CLI