Notecard CLI

The Notecard CLI is a command-line utility for interaction with a Notecard connected directly to a computer over USB. It is meant to serve as a development and debugging aid as you build Notecard-powered applications.

note

Use the Notecard Playground to interact with your Device

This site provides an in-browser terminal that emulates much of the functionality of the Notecard CLI. Access the terminal via the Notecard Playground or the expansion button at the top right of your screen, assuming you're using a supported browser (Chrome, Edge, or Brave).

Installation

Download the Binary

To install the Notecard CLI, visit the releases page of the note-go repository and download the binary for your operating system. Extract the notecard utility and place it in your PATH.

Build From Sources

Alternatively, if you have Go and the Go tools installed and want to build from source, you can clone the note-go repo and build the Notecard CLI directly with the following commands:

$ go get -u . && go build .

Usage

Once the Notecard CLI is installed, use the notecard command to view available arguments, as well as a list of available serial ports detected by the utility.

The Notecard will show up as tty.usbmodemNOTE1, ttyACM0, and COMx on macOS, Linux, and Windows respectively. The three asterisks (***) next to a device name indicates the default device that will be used, if the port flag is not provided.

If the CLI detects a single Notecard available via serial, it will issue all of the commands below directly on that device. If you have multiple Notecards connected and wish to specify a serial port, use the port flag, followed by the device address for your OS.

$ notecard -port /dev/cu.usbmodem3 -info

The rest of this guide details a number of common CLI commands.

Obtain Notecard Info

Use the info flag to obtain a view of Notecard configuration, network state, sensors, and onboard storage.

$ notecard -info

This command returns a formatted view of data.

Make a Single Request

To make a single request, use the req flag, followed by the full JSON request string, as outlined in the Notecard API Reference.

$ notecard -req '{"req":"hub.get"}'

This command sends the specified request to the Notecard and returns the result.

Use Interactive Request Mode

If you need to issue a number of requests to the Notecard, you can also use the play flag to enter interactive mode. In this mode, the Notecard expects direct JSON requests and returns JSON responses. Note: This is the same mode supported in our in-browser terminal and the Notecard Playground.

$ notecard -play

Exit interactive mode by typing q.

Set the ProductUID and Serial number

The product and sn flags provide a shorthand way to set the ProductUID and Serial Number on the Notecard. Both flags issue a hub.set request to the Notecard.

$ notecard -product 'org.soda-cola.vending-machine.v2'

{"req":"hub.set","product":"org.soda-cola.vending-machine.v2"}
{}

$ notecard -sn 'Scranton-12'

{"req":"hub.set","sn":"Scranton-12"}
{}

Manually Initiate a Notehub Sync

To manually initiate a sync between the Notecard and Notehub, use the sync flag.

$ notecard -sync

{"req":"hub.sync"}
{}

Trace Notecard Output

To trace the Notecard's activity, use the trace flag. This mode is similar to play in that it accepts interactive JSON requests, but also outputs trace messages from the Notecard.

$ notecard -trace

> t
on
> {"req":"hub.sync"}
{}
S9705:14.08 sync: sync triggered by manual sync request
S9705:14.08 sync: work: begin (anything pending) {sync-begin}
S9705:14.08 sync: request: get notebox change summary
S9705:15.64 sync: work: completed (nothing was pending) {sync-end}
S9705:15.64 sync: advancing last sync time from 16:05:45Z to 16:08:00Z

Run a Setup Script

Finally, you can instruct the CLI to send a series of requests to the Notecard with the setup flag. This command is useful for simplifying some of the Notecard configuration requests across a number of similar devices.

The requests should be defined in a file with a .json extension and a request on each line of the file. For example:

{"req":"hub.set","product":"org.soda-cola.vending-machine.v2"}
{"req":"hub.set","mode":"periodic","outbound":60,"inbound":1440,"align":true}
{"req":"card.aux","mode":"track"}
{"req":"card.location.mode","mode":"periodic","seconds":5}
{"req":"card.location.track","start":true,"heartbeat":true,"hours":4}

Then, use the setup flag and the JSON file on each connected Notecard:

$ notecard -setup config-tracker.json