Documentation
CLI Tools
CLI Tools
The ndi command-line tool lets you create configuration files, inspect services, validate your container, and export dependency graphs — all without writing a single line of code.
Installation
The CLI is included when you install the package:
npm install node-dependency-injection
The ndi binary is then available in ./node_modules/.bin/ndi, or globally if you install with -g.
Commands overview
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
config:create | Create an empty configuration file |
config:check | Check a configuration file for syntax errors |
container:service | Inspect a single service definition |
container:graph | Export the service dependency graph |
container:validate | Validate the full service container |
config:create
Creates an empty configuration file in the format of your choice.
ndi config:create <path> [options]
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
<path> | Directory where the configuration file will be created |
Options
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
-n, --name <name> | services | File name (without extension) |
-f, --format <format> | yaml | File format: yaml, json, js, xml |
Examples
# Create services.yaml in ./config
ndi config:create ./config
# Create my-services.json in ./config
ndi config:create ./config --name my-services --format json
config:check
Loads a configuration file and reports any syntax or parsing errors.
ndi config:check <path>
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
<path> | Path to the configuration file (.yaml, .json, .js, or .xml) |
The format is detected automatically from the file extension.
Exit codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 | File is valid |
1 | File contains errors |
Example
ndi config:check ./config/services.yaml
container:service
Displays detailed information about a single registered service.
ndi container:service <path> <service>
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
<path> | Path to the configuration file |
<service> | Service ID to inspect |
Example
ndi container:service ./config/services.yaml mailer
The output is a table showing the service's class, arguments, public flag, method calls, tags, properties, laziness, deprecated message, factory, synthetic flag, decoration, shared scope, and parent.
container:graph
Exports the service dependency graph in one of several formats.
ndi container:graph <path> [options]
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
<path> | Path to the configuration file |
Options
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--format <format> | mermaid | Output format: mermaid, dot, or json |
--filter <pattern> | — | Keep only services whose ID matches this regex |
--tag <name> | — | Keep only services that have the given tag |
--root <id> | — | Show graph starting from this root service |
--depth <number> | unlimited | Maximum traversal depth when --root is set |
--exclude-private | false | Exclude services marked as private |
Examples
# Print a Mermaid diagram to stdout
ndi container:graph ./config/services.yaml
# Export as Graphviz DOT
ndi container:graph ./config/services.yaml --format dot
# Export as JSON, filtered to the payment group
ndi container:graph ./config/services.yaml --format json --filter '^payment\.'
# Show only the subtree of 'checkout', 2 levels deep
ndi container:graph ./config/services.yaml --root checkout --depth 2
# Pipe a Mermaid diagram into a file
ndi container:graph ./config/services.yaml > graph.mmd
See the Graph Exporter guide for details on the output formats and filtering options.
container:validate
Compiles and validates the full service container, reporting errors, warnings, and informational messages.
ndi container:validate <path> [options]
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
<path> | Path to the configuration file |
Options
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--strict | false | Exit with code 1 on warnings as well as errors |
--format <format> | text | Output format: text or json |
Exit codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 | Container is valid (no errors; no warnings when --strict is used) |
1 | Container has errors (or warnings in --strict mode) |
Examples
# Validate with human-readable output
ndi container:validate ./config/services.yaml
# Validate in strict mode (warnings also fail the build)
ndi container:validate ./config/services.yaml --strict
# Machine-readable JSON output (useful in CI pipelines)
ndi container:validate ./config/services.yaml --format json
JSON output shape
{
"isValid": true,
"serviceCount": 12,
"errors": [],
"warnings": [],
"info": []
}