cad-simple-viewer-cli

@mlightcad/cad-simple-viewer-cli

AcCoreConsole-style headless CLI for MLight CAD Viewer. Install from npm, open a DXF/DWG (or start blank), run an AutoCAD-like .scr command script, and save exports (pngout, -chtml, cdxf, …) to disk.

Requires Node.js 20+. The CLI uses headless Chromium via Playwright; on first use you must install the browser once.

Install

npm install -g @mlightcad/cad-simple-viewer-cli
npx playwright install chromium

Or as a project dependency:

npm install -D @mlightcad/cad-simple-viewer-cli
npx playwright install chromium

Quick start

# Export a drawing to PNG (sample script shipped with the package)
cad-simple-viewer-cli \
  -i ./drawing.dwg \
  -s node_modules/@mlightcad/cad-simple-viewer-cli/examples/export-png.scr \
  -o ./out

# Global install: same, with your own script
cad-simple-viewer-cli -i ./drawing.dxf -s ./export-png.scr -o ./out

# Open from URL
cad-simple-viewer-cli \
  -i https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/mlightcad/cad-data@main/data/canteen.dwg \
  -s ./export-png.scr \
  -o ./out

# No input file: start from a blank ISO drawing (write mode)
cad-simple-viewer-cli -s ./create-drawing-dxf.scr -o ./out --mode write

With a local install, use npx:

npx cad-simple-viewer-cli -i ./drawing.dwg -s ./export-png.scr -o ./out

Options

Option	Description
-i, --input <file-or-url>	Local .dxf / .dwg path or http(s) URL. Omit to start from a blank ISO template
-s, --script <file>	.scr command script (required)
-o, --output <dir>	Directory for downloaded exports (default: input file’s directory, or cwd when no -i)
--mode <read|write>	Document open mode (default: read with -i, write without -i)
--locale <code>	Prompt/keyword locale (en, zh, …)
--logfile <path>	Append start / finish / download log lines

AcCoreConsole mapping

AcCoreConsole	cad-simple-viewer-cli
accoreconsole /i drawing.dwg /s script.scr	cad-simple-viewer-cli -i drawing.dwg -s script.scr
/i	-i, --input (optional path or URL)
/s	-s, --script
plot / export path	-o, --output (download directory)

Script format

1. First non-blank line of each command is the command name
2. Following lines answer prompts (empty line = Enter / default / None)
3. Full-line ; comments are ignored
4. QUIT / EXIT ends the script

Example — zoom extents, then PNG (long side 2048):

; export-png.scr
zoom
e
pngout

2048
quit

Useful commands (non-exhaustive): zoom, pngout, cdxf, -chtml, chtml, cpdf, csvg, -layer, qnew, line, circle, …

Layer edits need --mode write. Export commands write files via browser download; the CLI captures them into -o.

Sample scripts

After install, examples live under node_modules/@mlightcad/cad-simple-viewer-cli/examples/ (or the global package folder):

Script	Purpose
export-png.scr	Zoom extents → PNG
export-html.scr	Offline HTML (-chtml)
export-html-multi.scr	Multi-file ACEX package zip (-chtml Multi)
export-dxf.scr	DXF download (cdxf)
create-drawing-dxf.scr	Blank drawing + LINE → DXF (no -i)
create-shapes-dxf.scr	Blank drawing + LINE + CIRCLE → DXF
create-drawing-png.scr	Blank drawing → PNG
freeze-layer-png.scr	-layer Off then PNG (--mode write; edit LAYER_NAME)
batch-export-png.mjs	Scan a folder of drawings → PNG
batch-export-html.mjs	Scan a folder → HTML

Batch helpers (from your project after npm install -D):

node node_modules/@mlightcad/cad-simple-viewer-cli/examples/batch-export-png.mjs ./drawings ./out-png
node node_modules/@mlightcad/cad-simple-viewer-cli/examples/batch-export-html.mjs ./drawings ./out-html

Programmatic API

import { runHeadless } from '@mlightcad/cad-simple-viewer-cli'

const { outputDir, savedFiles } = await runHeadless({
  inputPath: './drawing.dwg',   // optional; omit for blank drawing
  scriptPath: './export-png.scr',
  outputDir: './out',
  mode: 'read',                 // optional
  locale: 'en',                 // optional
  logfile: './cli.log'          // optional
})

console.log(outputDir, savedFiles)

How it works

1. The published package includes a prebuilt Playwright runner (dist-runner/).
2. The CLI starts headless Chromium, opens the drawing (or a blank template), waits for entity convert / deferred text geometry, then runs AcApDocManager.runScript().
3. Export commands trigger downloads; the CLI writes captured files under -o.