Protobuf.Generate

protobuf.generate is a mix task that allows you to generate Elixir code using Protobuf without using the protoc-gen-elixir plugin.

The generator calls protoc using descriptor_set_out to output a FileDescriptorSet into a temporary file for input to Protobuf.

The difference between protobuf.generate and protoc-gen-elixir is that protoc-gen-elixir is called as a plugin to protoc and therefor executes in a global context while protobuf.generate executes in the context of the local project.

By executing in the context of the local project:

• Extensions that needs to be populated during code generation are picked up automatically by Protobuf.load_extensions/0 (which is not possible when using protoc-gen-elixir).

• Integration into the codegen by using generator plugins. See ProtobufGenerate.Plugin

Prerequisites

• Protoc (protocol buffer compiler) is required to be installed. Download and install the protocol buffer compiler (protoc).

Installation

This package can be installed by adding protobuf_generate to your list of dependencies in mix.exs:

def deps do
  [
    {:protobuf_generate, "~> 0.1.0"}
  ]
end

Usage

mix protobuf.generate supports the same options as protoc-gen-elixir

Arguments

• file - One or more .proto files to compile

Required options

• --output-path - Path to output directory

Optional options

• --include-path - Specify the directory in which to search for imports. Eqvivalent to protoc -I flag.

• --tranform-module - Module to do custom encoding/decoding for messages. See Protobuf.TransformModule for details.

• --package-prefix - Prefix generated Elixir modules. For example prefix modules with: MyApp.Protos use --package-prefix=my_app.protos.

• --generate-descriptors - Includes raw descriptors in the generated modules

• --one-file-per-module - Changes the way files are generated into directories. This option creates a file for each generated Elixir module.

• --include-documentation - Controls visibility of documentation of the generated modules. Setting true will not have @moduleoc false

• --plugins - Generator plugins. If you write services in protobuf, you can generate gRPC code by passing --plugins=ProtobufGenerate.Plugins.GRPC.

$ mix protobuf.generate --output-path=./lib --include-path=./priv/protos helloworld.proto
$ mix protobuf.generate \
  --include-path=priv/proto \
  --include-path=deps/googleapis \
  --generate-descriptors=true \
  --output-path=./lib \
  --plugins=ProtobufGenerate.Plugins.GRPCWithOptions \
  google/api/annotations.proto google/api/http.proto helloworld.proto

Available plugins

• ProtobufGenerate.Plugins.GRPC - Generate gRPC services
• ProtobufGenerate.Plugins.GRPCWithOptions - Generate gRPC services with method extension options.

Extensions

Extensions in the current project are loaded automatically when running mix protobuf.generate. However they need to be already generated in order for Protobuf.load_extensions/0 to pick them up.

Acknowledgements

• protox for running protoc with descriptor_set_out