Skip to main content

Introduction

What is Hexagon?​

Hexagon is a powerful tool that allows you to make your team's knowledge truly accessible, truly shared, and truly empowering by creating your own CLI. It provides a framework for building custom command-line interfaces (CLIs) that encapsulate your team's workflows, tools, and knowledge.

Hexagon CLI Example

Why Hexagon?​

Teams often struggle with knowledge sharing and standardizing workflows. Hexagon solves this by allowing you to:

  • Centralize team knowledge in a single, accessible interface
  • Standardize workflows across your team
  • Reduce onboarding time for new team members
  • Improve productivity by making common tasks easily accessible
  • Customize and extend your CLI to fit your team's specific needs

Key Features​

Declarative YAML Configuration​

  • Simple setup: Define your entire CLI in a single YAML file
  • No coding required: Create powerful CLIs without writing code
  • Easy to maintain: Configuration is readable and version-controlled

Flexible Tool Types​

  • Web tools: Open URLs and dashboards
  • Shell tools: Execute commands and scripts (.sh, .js)
  • Custom Python tools: Build sophisticated tools with full Python
  • Function tools: Register Python functions programmatically
  • Tool groups: Organize related tools together

Multi-Environment Support​

  • Environment-specific configuration: Different settings per environment
  • Quick environment switching: Use environment aliases for fast access
  • Format strings: Dynamic command generation based on environment

Extensibility​

  • Custom tools: Write Python modules for complex functionality
  • Plugins: Extend Hexagon with custom plugins
  • Hooks: React to lifecycle events (start, tool executed, etc.)
  • Runtime options: Configure behavior via YAML or environment variables

Rich Terminal Experience​

  • Theming: Choose from default, disabled, or result-only themes
  • Interactive prompts: Searchable selections with suggestions
  • Argument parsing: Built-in support for positional and optional arguments
  • Rich output: Panels, syntax highlighting, and formatted results

Built-in Tools​

  • Command aliases: Save frequently used commands
  • Replay: Re-run the last command
  • Create tool wizard: Interactive tool creation
  • Auto-updates: Keep Hexagon and your CLI up-to-date

Quick Example​

cli:
  custom_tools_dir: .  # relative to this file
  name: Team CLI
  command: team

envs:
  - name: dev
    alias: d
  - name: prod
    alias: p

tools:
  - name: docs
    alias: d
    long_name: Documentation
    description: Open team documentation
    type: web
    envs:
      dev: https://docs-dev.example.com
      prod: https://docs.example.com
    action: open_link

  - name: deploy
    alias: dep
    long_name: Deploy Service
    type: shell
    action: ./scripts/deploy.sh

Getting Started​

Ready to create your team's CLI? Here's how to begin:

  1. Install Hexagon - Get Hexagon installed on your machine
  2. Configure Your CLI - Create your first app.yaml
  3. Create a CLI - Build your custom CLI step-by-step

Learn by Example​

Check out our blog for step-by-step tutorials:

Explore the Documentation​