/sails

Generators

Generators scaffold new files in a Sails project. They create boilerplate files with the correct structure and naming conventions.

Built-in Generators

Generate an Action

sails generate action auth/login

Creates api/controllers/auth/login.js:

module.exports = {
  friendlyName: 'Login',
  description: 'Login auth.',
  inputs: {},
  exits: {},
  fn: async function (inputs) {
    // All done.
    return
  }
}

Generate a Helper

sails generate helper format-currency

Creates api/helpers/format-currency.js:

module.exports = {
  friendlyName: 'Format currency',
  description: '',
  inputs: {},
  exits: {
    success: {
      description: 'All done.'
    }
  },
  fn: async function (inputs) {
    // ...
  }
}

Generate a Model

sails generate model user

Creates api/models/User.js:

module.exports = {
  attributes: {
    // ...
  }
}

Generate a Policy

sails generate policy is-admin

Creates api/policies/is-admin.js.

Generate a Response

sails generate response notAuthorized

Creates api/responses/notAuthorized.js.

Generate a Hook

sails generate hook rate-limiter

Creates api/hooks/rate-limiter/index.js.

Generate a Script

sails generate script seed-database

Creates scripts/seed-database.js.

The Page Generator (Boring Stack)

The Boring Stack includes a custom page generator that creates both a Sails action and an Inertia page component:

sails generate page dashboard

This creates:

1. Action: api/controllers/dashboard/view-dashboard.js
2. Page component: assets/js/pages/dashboard/index.jsx (or .vue/.svelte)
3. Route entry: Added to config/routes.js

Configured in .sailsrc

{
  "generators": {
    "modules": {
      "page": "create-sails-generator/generators/page"
    }
  }
}

Page Generator Options

# Generate a nested page
sails generate page settings/profile

# Creates:
# api/controllers/setting/view-profile.js
# assets/js/pages/setting/profile.jsx
# Route: 'GET /settings/profile': 'setting/view-profile'

Custom Generators

Custom generators are defined in the create-sails-generator package in the Boring Stack monorepo. They follow a specific structure:

generators/
└── page/
    ├── index.js          # Generator logic
    └── templates/
        ├── action.template  # Action file template
        └── page.template    # Page component template

Generator Structure

// generators/page/index.js
module.exports = {
  before: function (scope, exits) {
    // Validate inputs, set defaults
    if (!scope.args[0]) {
      return exits.error('Please provide a page name.')
    }
    scope.pageName = scope.args[0]
    return exits.success()
  },

  targets: {
    './api/controllers/:pageName/view-:pageName.js': {
      template: 'action.template'
    },
    './assets/js/pages/:pageName/index.jsx': {
      template: 'page.template'
    }
  },

  after: function (scope, exits) {
    console.log('New page created!')
    return exits.success()
  }
}

Generator Tips

1. Use generators for consistency -- Generated files follow the project's conventions
2. The page generator is the most commonly used in Boring Stack development
3. Action names follow the pattern: feature/verb-noun (e.g., auth/login, setting/update-profile)
4. View actions are prefixed with view- (e.g., view-dashboard, view-profile)
5. Generate then customize -- Generators create the skeleton, you add the business logic

Available Generator Commands