Installation and commands

Install the CLI as a development dependency

For a project that consumes Aurelius, install the newest semver-tagged GitHub release. npm resolves the newest release when you run this command. Commit the generated package-lock.json to pin the exact commit for local work and CI:

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npm install --save-dev github:ArthurWillers/Aurelius#semver:*

To move an existing project to a newer release, run the install command again and commit both dependency files. Cloning the generator is only necessary for contribution or local customization.

Commit the resulting package.json and package-lock.json, then use npm ci in CI. Private Git repositories require read access for both the developer and the CI token.

Clone only to contribute or customize

Clone the project when you intend to develop Aurelius itself, run its tests, or maintain a fork:

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git clone https://github.com/ArthurWillers/aurelius.git
cd aurelius
npm ci

For a temporary local integration test from another project, use npm install --save-dev /absolute/path/to/aurelius; avoid a global npm link, which makes the version less visible and harder to reproduce.

The command set

Create a starter site in a new or empty directory:

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npx --no-install aurelius init docs --title "Product documentation" --logo brand.svg

Validate sources without writing the publication:

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npx --no-install aurelius check --site docs

Rebuild docs/dist from validated sources:

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npx --no-install aurelius build --site docs

Preview, watch source files, and reload the browser:

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npx --no-install aurelius dev --site docs --port 4173

List every named visual grammar:

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npx --no-install aurelius visual types

Create an editable authored visual plus its semantic JSON envelope:

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npx --no-install aurelius visual init release-flow --site docs --kind sankey --format html

Without --logo, init detects logo.svg, logo.png, logo.jpeg, or logo.jpg in the directory where you run it and copies the first match. Use --logo to select a specific SVG, PNG, JPEG, or JPG; when no default logo exists, init creates a small editable SVG placeholder.

Inside the Aurelius repository, use npm run aurelius -- <command>. For example:

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npm run aurelius -- check --site examples/product-docs

A practical editing loop

Edit Markdown, diagram JSON, authored HTML/SVG, assets, or site.config.json.
Run check for structural errors.
Use dev to review navigation, responsive layout, diagrams, and print output.
Run build in CI or immediately before publication.

No server, database, or external account is required. Continue with Site configuration.