moxpp-add-project

MoxPP Add Project

Help the developer add a new sub-project to this MoxPP workspace. Work through the steps below interactively — ask for any information you don't already have before making changes.

Steps

1. Check architecture compatibility

Read mox.lua and check cmox_project_architecture:

• single: Adding a second project requires switching to flat, hierarchical, or manual first. Warn the user and ask how they want to proceed before continuing.
• flat: New project goes into src/<project-name>/.
• hierarchical: Ask for the group name. New project goes into src/<group>/<project-name>/.
• manual: Remind the user they must manually add an include call in cmox_function_includeprojects() inside mox.lua.

2. Gather project information

Ask the user for the following if not already provided via $ARGUMENTS:

• Project name — used in the Visual Studio solution (PascalCase recommended)
• Output name — binary/library filename, snake_case. Default: snake_case of project name.
• Language — C++ (default), C, or C#
• Output type:
• console — console executable
• windowed — GUI executable (no console window, Windows only)
• sharedlib — shared library (.dll / .so / .dylib)
• staticlib — static library
• utility — custom build actions, no code output
• none — header-only, no build output
• Dependencies on other projects — list project names to links {} against. Ask separately if build order matters (dependson {}).
• Unit test requirement — if output type is sharedlib or staticlib, ask whether the unit test project should link against this project (adds mox_test_requirement()).
• Conan dependencies — any additional Conan packages needed in <name>/<version> format. Ask whether any need options changed. (Only relevant for C++ and C projects; skip for staticlib and none since they don't link Conan deps directly.)

3. Generate a UUID

Generate a UUID by running python -c "import uuid; print(uuid.uuid4())" via Bash and use the output in the new build.lua.

4. Create the project directory and build.lua

Create the directory according to the architecture layout determined in step 1.

Write build.lua using the gathered information:

mox_project("<ProjectName>", "<output_name>")

mox_cpp()        -- or mox_c() / mox_cs()

mox_console()    -- or mox_windowed() / mox_sharedlib() / mox_staticlib() / mox_utility() / mox_none()

uuid("<generated-uuid>")

-- mox_test_requirement()  -- uncomment if this lib is needed by the unit tests

-- links {
--     "OtherProject",
-- }

-- dependson {
--     "OtherProject",
-- }

Uncomment and fill in only the sections that apply. Remove unused comment blocks.

5. Create a starter source file

For console and windowed projects: create <project-dir>/main.cpp with a minimal main() function. For sharedlib or staticlib: create <project-dir>/<output_name>.h and <project-dir>/<output_name>.cpp with an empty placeholder. Also create <project-dir>/dummy.cpp containing a single empty translation unit (// dummy). This file is required on Windows — without at least one compiled .cpp, MSBuild will not produce a .lib output and any project that links against this one will fail to build. For utility or none: no source file needed.

6. Update conanfile.py and CLAUDE.md (if new Conan packages were requested)

Add the new self.requires(...) calls and any self.options[...] entries to conanfile.py. Then update the ## Conan Dependencies section in CLAUDE.md to include the newly added packages.

7. Update mox.lua if needed

• If architecture was changed from single to flat/hierarchical: update cmox_project_architecture.
• For manual architecture: remind the user to add the include call in cmox_function_includeprojects().
• If this is the intended startup project for Visual Studio, update startproject in cmox_function_setupworkspace().

8. Confirm and summarize

List all files created or modified and remind the user to run mox init (or ./mox.sh init) to regenerate project files.