@atomist/string-replace-skill

String Replace can be used to update configuration, code and text across files in all selected repositories. The string replacement will be run the next time there is a push to any of the selected repositories. If there are matches, this skill will create a pull request with the proposed changes.

What it's useful for

Make updates to code and configuration across your entire codebase. Automatically update files across all selected repositories based on a regular expression. Schedule the updates, run on push or run as a command via the Atomist Slack bot.

• Update configuration, code, documentation or any files in your repositories
• Automatically update READMEs in active projects to show that they are still active
• Rename packages across an entire codebase
• Update information needing periodic revision like dates, licenses, comment blocks

Before you get started

Connect and configure these integrations:

1. GitHub
2. Slack (optional)

This skill raises pull requests. The GitHub integration must be configured in order to use this skill. At least one repository must be selected.

When the optional Slack integration is enabled, users can run String Replace directly from Slack.

How to configure

1. Select the files to scan

   To restrict the files that this skill will run on, provide one or more glob patterns. For example, to only run on YAML files with .yaml or .yml extensions at any depth in the repository, you would provide this glob pattern:

   *.{yaml,yml}

   

   The glob pattern is optional. If not specified, the expression will run on all of the files in the selected repositories.

2. Enter a substitution expression

   Enter the expression to match and substitute. This will always start with s/ and eng with /g which tells the skill to do a global replacement, replacing all matches found. ( /g is the only option supported).

   For example, to perform the snake case to camel case conversion, this substitution expression would accomplish the job:

   s/([a-zA-Z]*?)_([a-zA-Z])/$1\u$2/g

   For help crafting and testing your regular expressions, try this online tool and see this guide.

3. Select branch policy

   Select whether the skill should run on pushes to the default branch only, or all branches.

   

4. Set to run on a schedule

   

   To run on a schedule, enter a cron schedule. If no cron schedule is set, the skill runs on every push to a selected repository.

   When run on a schedule, this skill only runs on the default branch.

5. Determine repository scope

   

   By default, this skill will be enabled for all repositories in all organizations you have connected.

   To restrict the organizations or specific repositories on which the skill will run, you can explicitly choose organization(s) and repositories.

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How to use String Replace

1. Configure the skill, enter a substitution expression, branch policy and repository scope

   Combining capture groups and back references in your substitution expression can be surprisingly powerful.
   A YAML snake case to camel case converter like this could be applied to all files matching the glob patterns *.yaml,*.yml

   s/([a-zA-Z]*?)_([a-zA-Z])/$1\U$2/g

   Use the repository selector to limit the skill to a select set of repositories. However, useful search replace operations can be easily shared too. Just let the skill see a larger set of repositories. Some operations are useful on all of your repositories.

2. The skill runs on new pushes to a repository or your defined schedule

   If any files were changed, a pull request will be raised with the changes. This skill will never commit directly to an existing branch.

   

3. Run a string replacement from Slack

   

   Trigger a string replacement from a Slack channel by running

   @atomist string-replace --configuration="Snake case to camel case for YAML"
   

   where configuration is the name of a saved String Replace skill configuration that you created. In this case, the skill configuration name is Snake case to camel case for YAML.

   

4. Don't be afraid to roll out that big naming change or deprecate that library!

   To create feature requests or bug reports, create an issue in the repository for this skill. See the code for the skill.

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