Create your first project¶

2 min read

Start with a program that runs. Add packages and choose another environment after this first step works.

Create and run¶

dreamer init hello
cd hello
dreamer run

init creates dream.toml for project settings and src/main.dream for your program. Open the source file and replace its contents with:

import system;

fun main() {
    System.println("Hello from my project!");
}

Run dreamer run again. It prints Hello from my project!. Use dreamer build when you want to build the program without starting it.

The small project tutorial adds data, a calculation, and a test. Read project settings to change the entry file or application details.

Choose a browser or Node project¶

dreamer init webapp --runtime web,node
cd webapp
dreamer run --target node
dreamer run --target web

Choose a target explicitly when your project supports several environments. Check environment availability before adding file or process features.

Other project shapes¶

dreamer init mylib --lib                    # a library (static by default)
dreamer init mylib --lib --output cdylib    # a library built as a shared library
dreamer init mytests --test                 # a test project
dreamer init myapp --workspace              # app/ + tests/ in one workspace

A test project holds @test functions and runs with dreamer test; see Test a project. A workspace keeps related packages together; see Workspaces.

`dreamer init` options¶

Option	Effect
`<name>`	Package name and new folder; defaults to the current folder's name
`--dir <path>`	Create the project in this folder instead of `./<name>`
`--runtime <list>`	Comma-separated hosts for `[package].targets`: `native`, `web`, `node`
`--lib`	Library package (`type = "lib"`); cannot be combined with `--runtime`
`--output <kind>`	With `--lib`: `staticlib` (default) or `cdylib`
`--test`	Test package (`type = "test"`)
`--workspace`	Workspace with an `app/` program and a `tests/` test project

--lib, --test and --workspace are mutually exclusive. A named folder must be empty or missing, and init refuses to overwrite an existing dream.toml.

Shape	Files created
Program	`dream.toml`, `src/main.dream`, `.gitignore`
Program with `--runtime web`	Also `index.html`, which loads the build from `target/web/`
Program with `--runtime node`	Also `run.mjs`, which loads the build from `target/node/`
`--lib`	`dream.toml` with a `[lib]` table, `src/<name>.dream`, `.gitignore`
`--test`	`dream.toml`, `example.dream`, an empty `fixtures/` asset folder, `.gitignore`
`--workspace`	Root `dream.toml` with `[workspace]`, plus `app/` and `tests/` packages

The generated .gitignore lists dream_packages/, target/ and .dream/. In src/<name>.dream, hyphens and dots in the name become underscores.

Add reusable code¶

Read dependencies to add a registry package or a local package. dreamer install prepares dependencies, and dreamer tree shows what is installed. Use publishing when your package is ready to share, or packaging when you want to distribute an application.