LuCLI: interactive console REPL (wheels console)

[bpamiri]

Interactive CFML console with Wheels app context (`model()`, `service()`, etc.):

```bash
wheels console
```

Requires bootstrapping `application.cfc` within LuCLI's JSR223 engine.

Blocked on: Understanding Lucee JSR223 application lifecycle support. May need to coordinate with Mark Drew.

Part of #1942

[bpamiri]

Analysis

Synopsis

An interactive CFML console REPL (wheels console) that bootstraps a Wheels application context, giving developers access to model(), service(), and other framework functions in an interactive shell. Requires bootstrapping Application.cfc within LuCLI's Lucee JSR223 engine.

Merit Assessment

Recommendation: Defer

• This is explicitly marked as P3 (Phase 2F) in PLAN.md and flagged as blocked on understanding Lucee's JSR223 application lifecycle support.
• The JSR223 engine in LuCLI evaluates CFML scripts but does not run a full Servlet lifecycle — there is no Application.cfc processing, no onApplicationStart, no onRequestStart. Wheels heavily depends on these lifecycle events to initialize the ORM, routes, DI container, and request scope.
• The value is real (Rails console, Django shell, Laravel tinker are beloved tools), but the technical gap is significant and requires upstream coordination with Mark Drew (LuCLI author).
• Higher-priority items (LuCLI: module distribution (lucli modules install wheels) Issue #1947 #1947, LuCLI: end-to-end testing against real project #1949, LuCLI: documentation for Wheels 3.1 release #1948) should ship first.

Implementation Plan (when unblocked)

1. Research phase — Coordinate with Mark Drew on LuCLI's JSR223 application support:

   • Can Application.cfc be loaded manually via createObject("component", "Application").onApplicationStart()?
   • Does the JSR223 engine support request scope, application scope, and component instantiation with extends?
   • Can the Lucee PageContext be manually bootstrapped without a Servlet container?

2. Prototype minimal bootstrap — If JSR223 supports component instantiation:

   // Bootstrap sequence the console would execute before REPL starts
   include "/config/environment.cfm";
   include "/config/settings.cfm";
   application.wheels = {}; // minimal wheels scope
   include "/vendor/wheels/events/onapplicationstart.cfm";

   This is the approach Rails uses — load the framework outside the web server context.

3. REPL loop implementation — Add console command to Module.cfc:

   • Read line from stdin
   • Evaluate via JSR223
   • Print result (with pretty-printing for query objects and model instances)
   • Handle errors gracefully (show message, continue loop)

4. Key functions to expose:

   • model("User") — ORM access
   • service("emailService") — DI container
   • findAll(), findOne(), findByKey() — query shortcuts
   • reload() — re-bootstrap application

5. Alternative approach if JSR223 can't bootstrap Application.cfc:

   • Proxy REPL commands via HTTP to a running Wheels server (similar to migrate and test commands)
   • Add a /wheels/console endpoint that accepts CFML expressions and returns results
   • Simpler but requires a running server, which reduces the utility

Estimated complexity: High. Research phase alone may take days. Full implementation is 1-2 weeks if JSR223 supports the necessary Lucee internals, or requires upstream LuCLI changes if not.

Dependencies & Risks

• Blocked on: Lucee JSR223 application lifecycle understanding — must coordinate with Mark Drew
• Does NOT block: Wheels 3.1 release. This can ship as a post-3.1 feature.
• Risk: If JSR223 can't bootstrap Application.cfc, the HTTP proxy approach is a degraded fallback that requires a running server. This significantly reduces the value of a console (the whole point is to avoid needing a running server).
• Risk: Even if bootstrapping works, Wheels features that depend on request scope (e.g., params, renderPage(), request-scoped DI) won't be available.
• Related: LuCLI: tracking issue for Phases 2-4 Issue #1942 #1942 (tracking), PLAN.md Phase 2F, LuCLI repo cybersonic/LuCLI

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Automated analysis by @claude — review and adjust as needed.

[bpamiri]

Implemented in develop.

• 76bc8b4 feat: add interactive console REPL with Wheels app context (wh-why)