tn-cli Refactoring Summary

The code is organized into following focused modules:

New Structure

1. tn-cli.py (Entry Point - ~120 lines)

• Command-line argument parsing
• Application initialization
• Version handling
• Authentication setup (token, basic, cookie)
• Macro loading
• Entry point that calls run() from client module

Key functions:

• exception_hook() - Crash handler
• if __name__ == '__main__' - Main entry point

2. utils.py (Utility Functions - ~200 lines)

• Helper functions and data structures
• File/image processing utilities
• Encoding and parsing functions

Key functions:

• dotdict - Dictionary with dot notation access
• makeTheCard() - Pack user profile data
• inline_image() - Create drafty image messages
• attachment() - Create drafty attachment messages
• encode_to_bytes() - Convert objects to bytes
• parse_cred() - Parse credentials
• parse_trusted() - Parse trusted values

Constants:

• MAX_INBAND_ATTACHMENT_SIZE
• MAX_EXTERN_ATTACHMENT_SIZE
• MAX_IMAGE_DIM
• DELETE_MARKER
• TINODE_DEL

3. commands.py (Command Parsing & Message Building - ~850 lines)

• Command-line parsing for all commands
• Protobuf message construction
• Variable dereferencing
• Command serialization

Key functions:

• parse_input() - Parse command line input
• parse_cmd() - Create argument parsers
• serialize_cmd() - Convert commands to protobuf
• derefVals() / getVar() - Variable dereferencing
• Message builders: hiMsg(), accMsg(), loginMsg(), subMsg(), leaveMsg(), pubMsg(), getMsg(), setMsg(), delMsg(), noteMsg()
• File operations: upload(), fileUpload(), fileDownload()
• print_server_params() - Log server info

4. client.py (gRPC Client & Communication - ~260 lines)

• gRPC connection management
• Message generation and streaming
• Server response handling
• Login/authentication handling
• Cookie management

Key functions:

• run() - Main client loop
• gen_message() - Generate outgoing messages
• handle_ctrl() - Handle server control responses
• handle_login() - Process login response
• save_cookie() / read_cookie() - Cookie persistence
• pop_from_output_queue() - Output queue management

5. input_handler.py (User Input - ~70 lines)

• Terminal input reading
• Multi-line input support
• Interactive and non-interactive modes

Key functions:

• stdin() - Main input loop
• readLinesFromStdin() - Read with prompt support

6. tn_globals.py (Shared Global State - ~104 lines)

• Global variables shared across all modules
• Asynchronous I/O queue management
• Utility functions for logging and output
• Protobuf to JSON conversion

Key variables:

• OnCompletion - Dictionary of callbacks for server responses
• WaitingFor - Outstanding synchronous command request
• AuthToken - Current authentication token
• InputQueue / OutputQueue - Async I/O queues
• InputThread - Background input thread
• IsInteractive - Detect if running in interactive mode
• Prompt - PromptSession for interactive input
• DefaultUser / DefaultTopic - Default context values
• Variables - Store command execution results
• Connection - gRPC connection to server
• Verbose - Extended logging flag

Key functions:

• printout() - Print in interactive mode only
• printerr() - Write to stderr
• stdout() / stdoutln() - Async output to stdout
• clip_long_string() - Shorten long strings for logging
• to_json() - Convert protobuf messages to JSON

7. macros.py (Command Macros - ~341 lines)

• High-level command macros that expand into basic commands
• Simplifies complex multi-step operations
• Requires root privileges for most operations

Macro base class:

• Macro - Base class for all macros with parsing and execution

Available macros:

• usermod - Modify user account (suspend/unsuspend, update theCard, trusted values)
• resolve - Resolve login name to user ID
• passwd - Set user's password
• useradd - Create new user account with credentials
• chacs - Change default permissions/acs for a user
• userdel - Delete user account (soft or hard delete)
• chcred - Add/delete/validate user credentials
• thecard - Print user's public/private data or credentials

Key functions:

• parse_macro() - Find parser for macro command
• Macro.expand() - Expand macro to list of basic commands
• Macro.run() - Execute macro or explain expansion

Macro dictionary:

• Macros - Dictionary mapping macro names to instances

Module Dependencies

tn-cli.py
├── tn_globals
├── client (run, read_cookie)
└── commands (set_macros_module)

client.py
├── tn_globals
├── tinode_grpc (pb, pbx)
├── utils (dotdict)
├── input_handler (stdin)
└── commands (hiMsg, loginMsg, serialize_cmd)

commands.py
├── tn_globals
├── tinode_grpc (pb, pbx)
├── utils (makeTheCard, inline_image, attachment, etc.)
└── client (handle_ctrl, handle_login, save_cookie) [for specific commands]

utils.py
├── tn_globals
└── tinode_grpc (pb)

input_handler.py
└── tn_globals

macros.py
└── tn_globals

tn_globals.py
└── (no dependencies - provides shared state)

Why

1. Separation of Concerns: Each module has a clear, focused responsibility
2. Maintainability: Easier to find and modify specific functionality
3. Testability: Individual modules can be tested independently
4. Readability: Smaller files are easier to understand
5. Reusability: Utilities and client code can be reused
6. Extensibility: Easy to add new macros or commands without modifying core logic
7. Shared State Management: tn_globals.py provides centralized state accessible to all modules

Usage

Run the application using:

python3 tn-cli.py [arguments]

Or make it executable:

chmod +x tn-cli.py
./tn-cli.py [arguments]