command_line.md

id	title	sidebar_label
command_line	Command line parameters	Command line parameters

In general, Twirp's Go generator shouldn't need command line parameters. There are some complex cases, though, where they are the only way to get things done, particularly when setting the import path to be used in generated code.

How to pass command line parameters

Command line parameters are passed to the Twirp generator, protoc-gen-twirp, by specifying them in the --twirp_out argument. The parameters are key-values, separated by , characters, and you the parameter list is terminated with a : character.

So, for example, --twirp_out=k1=v1,k2=v2,k3=v3:. would pass k1=v1, k2=v2, and k3=v3 to twirp.

Modifying imports

When working with multiple proto files that use import statements, protoc-gen-twirp uses the option go_package field in the .proto files to determine the import paths for imported message types. Usually, this is sufficient, but in some complex setups, you need to be able to directly override import lines.

You should usually set import paths by using option go_package in your .proto files. A line like this:

option go_package = "github.com/twitchtv/thisisanexample";

will set things up properly. But if a file needs to be imported at different paths for different users, you might need to resort to command-line parameters.

This behavior can be customized by using two different command line parameters:

• import_prefix, which prefixes all generated import paths with something.
• go_import_mapping, which lets you set an explicit mapping of import paths to use for particular .proto files.

Import prefix parameter

The import_prefix parameter can be passed to --twirp_out in order to prefix the generated import path with something.

$ PROTO_SRC_PATH=./
$ IMPORT_PREFIX="github.com/example/rpc/haberdasher"
$ protoc \
  --proto_path=$PROTO_SRC_PATH \
  --twirp_out=import_prefix=$IMPORT_PREFIX:$PROTO_SRC_PATH \
  --go_out=import_prefix=$IMPORT_PREFIX:$PROTO_SRC_PATH \
  $PROTO_SRC_PATH/rpc/haberdasher/service.proto

Import mapping parameter

The import mapping parameter can be passed multiple times to --twirp_out in order to substitute the import path for a given proto file with something else. By passing the parameter multiple times you can build up a map of proto file to import path inside the generator.

This parameter should be used when one of your proto files imports a proto file from another package and you're not generating your code at the $GOPATH/src root.

There are two ways to provide this parameter to --twirp_out:

As provided to protoc-gen-go

Just like proto-gen-go, you can use a shorthand, formatted as: M<proto filename>=<go import path>. For example, you could tell protoc-gen-twirp that rpcutil/empty.proto can be found at github.com/example/rpcutil by using Mrpcutil/empty.proto=github.com/example/rpcutil. Here's a full example:

$ PROTO_SRC_PATH=./
$ IMPORT_MAPPING="rpcutil/empty.proto=github.com/example/rpcutil"
$ protoc \
  --proto_path=$PROTO_SRC_PATH \
  --twirp_out=M$IMPORT_MAPPING:$PROTO_SRC_PATH \
  --go_out=M$IMPORT_MAPPING:$PROTO_SRC_PATH \
  $PROTO_SRC_PATH/rpc/haberdasher/service.proto

Using the go_import_mapping@ prefix

This is exactly the same as the previous method; it's just a little more verbose and a little clearer. The format is go_import_mapping@<proto filename>=<go import path>. For example, you could tell protoc-gen-twirp that rpcutil/empty.proto can be found at github.com/example/rpcutil by using go_import_mapping@rpcutil/empty.proto=github.com/example/rpcutil. Here's a full example:

$ IMPORT_MAPPING="rpcutil/empty.proto=github.com/example/rpcutil"
$ protoc \
  --proto_path=$PROTO_SRC_PATH \
  --twirp_out=go_import_mapping@$IMPORT_MAPPING:$PROTO_SRC_PATH \
  --go_out=M$IMPORT_MAPPING:$PROTO_SRC_PATH \
  $PROTO_SRC_PATH/rpc/haberdasher/service.proto

Note: this is a protoc-gen-twirp flavor of the parameter. protoc-gen-go does not support this prefix.