BBRails Toolkit: Enhanced Ruby on Rails Development in BBEdit

Over the past few months, I've been working on a number of scripts for BBEdit to streamline my Ruby on Rails development process. In a previous post, I shared a script for adding basic Git integration; since then, I've improved on that initial script and added a number of additional scripts based on the same underlying principle: performing routine tasks related to developing, deploying, and testing Rails apps should not necessarily require a trip to Terminal.

The BBRails Toolkit is the culmination of this effort. It integrates BBEdit with a number of command-line tools and puts common tasks only one menu-click or keyboard shortcut away. And because the scripts are just AppleScript, instead of compiled plug-ins, they're extensible and hackable.

What's Included in the BBRails Toolkit

Capistrano
Presents a menu of Capistrano tasks available for your project. Select the task that you want to execute and click "Run".
Cheatsheet
Integration with Cheat from Err the Blog. Highlight a Ruby or Rails command to look up the associated cheat sheet. If nothing is highlighted, enter a command in a dialog box, get help with Cheat, or get a list of available cheatsheets.
Git
Execute a git status or git pull for the current project.
Rake
Presents a menu of Rake tasks available for the current project. Select the task that you want to execute and click "Run".
Reek
Check how your code "smells" with Reek, an analysis and refactoring tool that scans for duplication, long methods, long parameter lists, nested iterators, unnecessary complexity, and other indicators of code quality.
Start Application
Save yourself a trip to the command line! Start your Rails application right from BBEdit. Supply a port number, click on Start, and you're done.

Each of the BBRails Tools will attempt to determine the current Rails application root based on the project file that you have open. If it is unable to do so, you will be prompted to select your project root manually.

Installation

Start by downloading the BBRails Toolkit: bbrails_toolkit.dmg (5 MB)

After you download the disk image, mount it in Finder. To install the scripts in BBEdit, simply drag the "BBRails Tools" folder onto the "BBEdit 9 Script Folder" alias, or manually copy it to ~/Library/Application Support/BBEdit/Scripts/

The scripts will then be accessible via BBEdit's Scripts menu item. You can set up keyboard shortcuts through Window > Palettes > Scripts, clicking the disclosure triangle next to BBRails Tools, selecting the script you want, and clicking the "Set Key...." button.

License & Legal Stuff

BBRails Toolkit is provided as a service to my fellow Ruby on Rails developers and the BBEdit user community, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

::Published by Corey Ehmke on 03/02/2009 in Ruby on Rails / BBEdit on Rails