Exploring Developer Mode!
Are you looking to streamline your Alteryx tool development process? In this blog post, we'll dive into how you can leverage Developer Mode to enhance your development workflow and iterate more quickly on your Alteryx tools.
What is Developer Mode?
Developer Mode in the ayx-plugin-cli provides a seamless way for developers to write, test, and iterate on their custom tools within Alteryx Designer. It offers a "hot-load" functionality that allows you to make changes to your code in your favorite IDE, save those changes, and instantly see the effects reflected in Alteryx Designer the next time you run your tool.
Getting Started with Developer Mode
To get started with Developer Mode, ensure that you have the latest requirements installed and that your workspace is up-to-date. Once you have everything set up, you can build your tool using the ayx_plugin_cli install-yxi or ayx_plugin_cli designer-install command.
Sample:
ayx_plugin_cli designer-install --dev --install-type user
When should you use install-yxi vs designer-install?
install-yxi works on arbitrary YXIsdesigner-install only works from a workspace
Utilizing Developer Mode for Instant Feedback
The key feature of Developer Mode is its ability to provide instant feedback on code changes. By installing your tool with the --dev flag and specifying the --install-type user, along with ensuring your Conda environment is active (e.g., using Python 3.10), you are enabling Developer Mode for your Alteryx tool.
With Developer Mode activated, you can write your code in your preferred IDE, save your changes, and witness the impact of those changes in real time within Alteryx Designer. This iterative development process significantly reduces the time spent on reloading tools and enables a faster feedback loop during development.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Developer Mode in the CLI offers developers a powerful toolset for enhancing their development workflow. By enabling instant code feedback, seamless integration with IDEs, and quick sanity checks, Developer Mode streamlines the process of creating custom tools within Alteryx Designer.
