cpace

cpace is a tool that helps develop [.c] and [.cpp] based applications by automatically restarting them when file changes are detected. The package was built to automate the compilation and running of .exe files when writing C/C++ applications.

Requirements

• Node.js must be installed on your PC (how to install / download)
• gcc/g++ must be installed on your PC (how to install / download)

Installation

The best way to install cpace is using npm:

npm install -g cpace

cpace will be installed globally to your system path. With a global installation cpace will be available anywhere.

You can also install cpace as a development dependency:

npm install --save-dev cpace

With a local installation, cpace will not be available in your system path or you can't use it directly from the command line.

Usage

cpace wraps your application, so you just have to pass your file name:

# for C files
cpace [file.c]

# for C++ files
cpace [file.cpp]

For CLI options, use the -h (or --help) argument:

cpace -h

For compilation without starting the program, use the -c (or --compile) argument:

cpace -c [file.cpp]

For watching a directory and compiling specific file, use the -d (or --directory) argument:

# the file name must be after the -d argument
cpace {directory} -d [file.cpp]

Also, you can use several arguments:

cpace {directory} -d [file.cpp] -с
# or
cpace {directory} -c -d [file.cpp]

Update

If you installed cpace locally, use:

npm update cpace

If you installed cpace globally, use:

npm update -g cpace

Notice

cpace was written to restart C and C++ applications. If your script exits cleanly, cpace will continue to monitor the file and restart it if there are any changes. If there is an error, cpace will notify you in the console.

Tested on Windows 10, Windows 11.

With cpace you can't use cin >>, gets(), getchar(), getline() and similar functions to get data from the console (maybe this will be fixed in the future).