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Description

Litr (Language independent task runner) lets you configure and then run any tasks you want for any language. Define scripts, run executables or execute commands on your machine. Litr serves as an abstraction layer to combine different strategies into one tool.

Primary goals

• Easy to set up
• Easy to use
• Fast

In general the tool needs to be "as user friendly as possible", with pretty error reporting, helpful messages and uncomplicated setup.

Vision

Here an example for installing the tool on a macOS via Homebrew:

brew tap krieselreihe/litr
brew install litr

Here is a small example of the tool showing the usage. Context is on macOS, working on a C++ project with CMake.

cd Projects/example
litr install
litr build --target release
litr run

Or a short form:

cd Projects/example
litr install, build --target Release, run

The command does not need to be executed in the same folder as the litr.toml. Litr will look for the closest litr.toml file, in this order:

• Same folder
• Parent folder up until root (/)
• User folder ~

As soon as a Litr file is found the search will stop. If a command is not defined in that file Litr will inform the user. See the setup section on details how to define commands.

The name

Why Litr? The phrase "language independent task runner" was first, as this is the goal. Seeing this being "Litr" sounded nice. After a good amount of search I could not find a tool that does the same with this name (or in general tools with this name). But I found this:

Litr (also Lit; Old Norse: 'colour, appearance') is the name borne by a dwarf and a jötunn in Norse mythology.

-- Wikipedia

Associating color with this, as this can be used with many languages, therefore having a "colourful usage" did just fit quite right. This can also make it easier to find a logo.

How to use the name

In text, no matter if the beginning of a sentence or not, it should always be written with a capital "L": Litr.