
Suitcase: A macOS tool for deploying GUIs for simple commands and scripts - rjstelling
https://github.com/Impedimenta/Suitcase
======
k2enemy
Very cool. Just a suggestion for the demos in the README though. Maybe have
the code shown statically, then a gif of the GUI. Watching all the typing gets
long when I just want to see the resulting GUI.

~~~
kirstenbirgit
Yep, there's zero reason for the gifs. They seem _really_ slow to me. Makes it
impossible to copy the code if I wanted to, as well.

~~~
sbarre
The code is on the page, in text, directly below the GIF, if you want to copy
it.

The GIFs help, they should just start with the code getting pasted in, not
typed in.

~~~
nfin
and clicking the gif gives you a skippable video

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zapzupnz
Taking me to another website to look at the same clip — and then make me skip
to the end myself _and_ then manage having to pause the video — is lipstick on
a pig.

A JPEG will be just fine.

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danpalmer
As the source code isn't actually available I've opened a GitHub issue to
clarify whether this is deliberate, or to track the adding of the code.

[https://github.com/Impedimenta/Suitcase/issues/4](https://github.com/Impedimenta/Suitcase/issues/4)

~~~
tptacek
The author was on this thread an hour before you posted this clarifying that
it is not yet open source, so you could delete that Github issue.

~~~
jakear
Why not have an issue tracking it? The author will likely close the issue
themselves when they open source it.

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rankam
Ok I feel like an idiot, but where is the code in the repo that produces the
GUI - ie where is the Suitcase code?

~~~
mikestew
EDIT: okay, _I 'm_ the idiot for not actually opening the source archive and
verifying that there's anything in there worth looking at.

You aren't the idiot in this equation. Inexplicably, the source can be found
in zip or tar format on the download page:

[https://github.com/Impedimenta/Suitcase/releases/tag/1.0.0-a...](https://github.com/Impedimenta/Suitcase/releases/tag/1.0.0-alpha)

~~~
karkisuni
The "source code" zip has the same files as in the repo. No source.

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KMnO4
Awesome, I welcome any tools that simplify the GUI deployment process.

I've built quite a collection of scripts that clean and process my company's
domain-specific data. I once needed to share that with a data-
scientist/computer-Luddite (sadly too common) who wasn't comfortable running
CLI scripts. The solution I came up with used Platypus[0] to generate a lovely
app wrapper where files could be dragged in.

[0]:
[https://github.com/sveinbjornt/Platypus](https://github.com/sveinbjornt/Platypus)

~~~
dimator
I've used this to create a little muxer for opening URLs, which routes some to
safari and some to Firefox, based on domain. Platypus allows to associate the
app as a URL handler with the OS, which is very nice.

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ysleepy
Customizable dialog tools have some history, there are a bunch on linux but
macOS also has some.

Linux:

[https://help.gnome.org/users/zenity/3.32/](https://help.gnome.org/users/zenity/3.32/)

[https://techbase.kde.org/Development/Tutorials/Shell_Scripti...](https://techbase.kde.org/Development/Tutorials/Shell_Scripting_with_KDE_Dialogs)

macOS:

[https://cocoadialog.com/](https://cocoadialog.com/)

[https://www.bluem.net/en/projects/pashua/](https://www.bluem.net/en/projects/pashua/)

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turnipla
All of that doesn’t seem to belong on to CLI flags. I love the possibilities
this opens up, but I’d much rather write a configuration file.

~~~
Jaxan
Or you use suitcase to make a GUI for this tool ;-)

~~~
booi
Or make a separate tool that is a GUI to generate the config. We’ll call it
metacase

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harrylepotter
Super cool. Reminds me of "platypus" \- a similar tool I use frequently:
[https://sveinbjorn.org/platypus](https://sveinbjorn.org/platypus)

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robinhouston
Who else remembers Commando in the Macintosh Programmer’s Workshop? That was a
long time ago, but then the world moved in a different direction. It’s
interesting that this sort of thing has been out of fashion for so long. I
wonder if it will come back.

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gardaani
Mac Quick Actions and Automator can be used for the simplest cases. I've build
several file processing Quick Actions, which I can run by pressing buttons in
Finder.

[https://support.apple.com/guide/automator/use-quick-
action-w...](https://support.apple.com/guide/automator/use-quick-action-
workflows-aut73234890a/mac)

~~~
pkamb
macOS Quick Actions (formerly called Services) are great, but I've always
found them very cumbersome to use due to being relegated to the submenu. And
having no icons, and a severe lack of customization and control over their
order.

I recently released an indie Mac app to bring your Applications and Scripts to
the _top_ of the Finder right-click menu, customized exactly how you like.

[https://servicestation.menu/](https://servicestation.menu/)

It's on the Mac App Store and uses the modern Finder Extension API, so safe to
install and no Finder haxies.

~~~
miles
One of the major features Service Station advertises is "Open Terminal by
right-clicking the Finder!", but isn't this functionality already available in
macOS via System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Services > checking "New
Terminal at Folder" under "Files and Folders"?

A feature that might make Service Station even more useful would be adding
"New Text File" and "Rich Text Document" options, similar to the app "New File
Menu"[0].

This is the second time today[1] I've seen a closed source project hosted at
GitHub[2]; I had mistakenly assumed GitHub was for open source projects (like
SourceForge).

[0] [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/new-file-
menu/id1064959555?mt=...](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/new-file-
menu/id1064959555?mt=12)

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23020258](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23020258)

[2]
[https://github.com/knurling/ServiceStation/](https://github.com/knurling/ServiceStation/)

~~~
pkamb
"New Terminal at Folder" does work if you right-click a folder... but NOT if
you right-click the background of a Folder you already have open. That's the
primary way I want to open Terminal.

But more importantly it's the UX difference between these two images:

[https://imgur.com/a/pt3yQ2q](https://imgur.com/a/pt3yQ2q)

You can definitely already launch applications and scripts in macOS via "Open
With" or the "Services" submenus.

Service Station moves them to the top of your right-click menu, gives them
icons, and lets you completely customize the menu including targeting menus to
show for only very specific selected file types.

~~~
miles
> But more importantly it's the UX difference between these two images:
> [https://imgur.com/a/pt3yQ2q](https://imgur.com/a/pt3yQ2q)

Thanks for explaining the difference. I have so few services enabled that “New
Terminal at Folder” is in the top level of my context menu[0], hence my
misunderstanding.

[0] [https://imgur.com/ZrHVSPA](https://imgur.com/ZrHVSPA)

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mszmszmsz
Waiting for the gifs to show the output Drives. Me. Nuts.

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mkchoi212
Really cool but I’m wondering why have the user input args in as a command
line arg? Seems very arduous and shell is just... shell. IMO, I would love
something like this

`> suitecase my_layout.yaml`

~~~
rjstelling
Please open an issue, I'd love to hash out what that might look like.

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tambourine_man
Really nice. Reminds me of Platypus[1].

I don't really use GitHub but, if possible, please change the GIFs to MP4.
Besides being sharper and way smaller, one can control the playback to
rewind/fast forward.

[1] [https://sveinbjorn.org/platypus](https://sveinbjorn.org/platypus)

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slantyyz
This will date me, but when I think of Suitcase for the Mac, I think of the
font manager application that predated OSX... which surprisingly, still
exists.[1]

[1] [https://www.extensis.com/suitcase-
fusion](https://www.extensis.com/suitcase-fusion)

~~~
EricE
I’ll just add that I liked Font/DA mover. Need to set up a laser printer?
That’s your tool! (what we tolerated because we didn’t have better at the time
- yikes!)

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zelienople
This was a very unpleasant experience.

Read through the documentation... awful documentation, but the project looks
cool.

Looked for the source... no source, that's weird, isn't this Github?

Found the binary... crashes without Combine.framework. That's funny... nothing
about requirements in the docs...

Looked through the comments... couldn't get the source ready for "Launch Day"?
Nor, apparently, any of the above. So what is the point of a launch day?

Maybe I'll try a sample app at the Bazaar... It says it's for sharing, right?
So I can see some demos there... Nope.

Got 234 upvotes at this point, though, so people seem to be finding something
worthwhile here. Wish I knew what it was.

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crad
Neat, but "instantly" is a bit much. How about quickly? :-p

~~~
sairamkunala
Codeless GUI for Mac OS

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lxe
This new trend on HN of CLI tools controlled through a ton of CLI arguments...
Why not pass a config/yaml/json/xml file/stdin?

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ruffrey
Cool, but needs a license.

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evandena
Anyone know something similar to this, but with help generating a web front
end? I'd love to generate a small UI for my team to help with openssl
commands, being able to input data would be a bonus.

I could probably cook something up with node fairly fast, but I'm a remedial
programmer.

~~~
goostavos
Maybe Wooey[0] fits your needs?

[https://github.com/wooey/Wooey](https://github.com/wooey/Wooey)

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mazatta
Seems like a less-good derivative of Briefcase:
[https://github.com/beeware/briefcase](https://github.com/beeware/briefcase)

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marcoperaza
Does anyone know of something like this for Windows? Would be nice to build a
small UI around some powershell scripts I have, without having to resort to a
full WinForms application.

~~~
goostavos
Shameless plug: checkout Gooey. Works on Win/OSX/Linux

While it won't bootstrap your GUI straight from powershell, it can give you a
pleasant GUI that calls your powershell stuff with just a few lines of Python
(no actual GUI code required!) ^_^

[https://github.com/chriskiehl/Gooey](https://github.com/chriskiehl/Gooey)

~~~
dvno42
Wow. This this is a really impressive project. Thanks for sharing!

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nathancahill
See also, Hammerspoon for an open source project that does this.

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fimdomeio
does anyone know of similar tools for linux?

~~~
guessbest
"Xdialog is designed to be a drop in replacement for the "dialog" or "cdialog"
programs. It converts any terminal based program into a program with an
X-windows interface. The dialogs are easier to see and use while adding even
more functionalities (e.g. with the treeview, the file selector, the edit box,
the range box, the help button/box). Because Xdialog uses GTK+, it will also
match your desktop theme."

[http://xdialog.free.fr/](http://xdialog.free.fr/)

~~~
Aloha
I dont think Xdialog is maintained anymore, dialog is though.

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7ewis
Looks cool, anyone got any good use cases for it?

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ibdf
Can this handle user inputs?

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mister_hn
I hope for a porting to Linux

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codeisawesome
As of now this is not actually open source - though that’s the default
expectation of a repository being on GitHub. I don’t like the pattern of doing
that because I feel GitHub will become a very slick SourceForge.

One more experience like this and I’ll uninstall the GitHub apps from my
devices because I can’t trust them to not be warez themselves or some sort.

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graddrisrp
I'd rather avoid macos gui system as much as possible IMHO

~~~
saagarjha
That’s unfortunately a problem for people who use macOS.

