Command line guide

Use the Lutra CLI when you want to:

check projects for errors,
run programs locally and remotely,
explore data interactively,
generate bindings for Python or Rust.

For exact command and option details, see the CLI reference.

Install the CLI¶

Using Nix¶

If you use Nix, install the CLI with:

$ nix profile install 'git+https://codeberg.org/lutra/lutra-data.git'

Using Cargo¶

Prerequisites:

Rust toolchain
DuckDB library installed on your system

Then install the CLI:

$ cargo install lutra-cli

Note

The CLI depends on DuckDB. On Debian or Ubuntu, you can install it with apt install libduckdb-dev. On macOS, you can use brew install duckdb.

Optional: you can also use --features bundled to compile DuckDB from source. This requires a C++ compiler.

Run your first program¶

Create a file named example.lt:

func main() -> "Hello, world!"

Run it with the local interpreter:

$ lutra run --project example.lt --interpreter
const output = "Hello, world!"

This is the fastest way to try out small language examples from the learning guides.

Check a project¶

Use check to validate a project without running it.

$ lutra check --project example.lt
All good.

This is useful when you want type checking and diagnostics while editing code.

Run an expression directly¶

You can also run a one-off expression without creating a project function.

$ lutra run \
    --interpreter \
    --program 'fold([1, 2, 3], 0: int32, func (s, v) -> s + v)'
6

This is handy for quick experiments.

Explore a project interactively¶

Use interactive when you want a live project environment with recompilation.

$ lutra interactive --project example.lt --interpreter

You can also use other runners:

$ lutra interactive --project project.lt --postgres 'postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/db'
$ lutra interactive --project project.lt --duckdb ':memory:'

interactive is a good fit for exploration, rapid iteration, and trying transformations against a real backend.

Generate bindings¶

Use codegen when you want to call Lutra programs from another language.

Generate Rust bindings:

$ lutra codegen --project ./project.lt ./lutra.rs
Used files:
- project.lt
Output written to lutra.rs
Done.

Generate Python bindings:

$ lutra codegen --project ./project.lt ./generated.py