CLI Reference

Usage:

jspicl-cli input [<args>]

Arguments

• --input: string required

  Your game's entry point. This file can then import other modules.

• --output: string required

  Where to output the PICO-8 cardridge.

• --spritesheetImagePath: string

  Path to a spritesheet file. Only PNGs are supported.

• --cartridgePath: string

  Path to an existing cardridge to reuse sound, music and state flags from. Normally you would point this to the generated cartridge so that you can save the assets directly and reuse them.

• --includeBanner: boolean = true

  Include a short comment at the very top of the generated Lua code that contains info about jspicl. Does not increase the token count.

• --jsOutput: string

  Where to output the flattened and transpiled JavaScript code. You may use this with astexplorer to inspect the AST. Make sure that Esprima is selected as the parser. Used for debugging purposes.

• --luaOutput: string

  Where to output the transpiled Lua code. Used for debugging purposes.

• --showStats: boolean = true

  Display statistics about the generated cartridge. Useful for determining how much resources your game is using.

• --pipeOutputToConsole: boolean

  Output all console.log to terminal that launched PICO-8. For debugging purposes.

• --reloadOnSave: boolean

  Reload PICO-8 when the cartridge has been updated.

• --customPicoPath: string

  Provide a path to the PICO-8 executable if it's not installed in the default location.

• --prettify: boolean = true

  Prettifies the transpiled code. By default, jspicl formats the Lua output for you but if performance ever becomes an issue you can turn this off by setting this to false.

• --watch

  Runs the game in PICO-8 and reloads the cartridge when the source files change.

Watch mode

The CLI will listen for changes when the --watch option is passed.

This applies for the spritesheet aswell. Simply save your image and your changes will be reloaded in PICO-8.

NOTE: Reloading the cartridge is currently only supported on MacOS.