docs » hs.doc

Create documentation objects for interactive help within Hammerspoon

The documentation object created is a table with tostring metamethods allowing access to a specific functions documentation by appending the path to the method or function to the object created.

From the Hammerspoon console:

  doc = require("hs.doc")
  doc.hs.application

Results in:

  Manipulate running applications

  [submodules]
  hs.application.watcher

  [subitems]
  hs.application:activate([allWindows]) -> bool
  hs.application:allWindows() -> window[]
      ...
  hs.application:visibleWindows() -> win[]

By default, the internal core documentation and portions of the Lua 5.3 manual, located at http://www.lua.org/manual/5.3/manual.html, are already registered for inclusion within this documentation object, but you can register additional documentation from 3rd party modules with hs.registerJSONFile(...).

Submodules

API Overview

API Documentation

Functions

help
Signature hs.doc.help(identifier)
Type Function
Description

Prints the documentation for some part of Hammerspoon's API and Lua 5.3. This function has also been aliased as hs.help and help as a shorthand for use within the Hammerspoon console.

Parameters
  • identifier - A string containing the signature of some part of Hammerspoon's API (e.g. "hs.reload")
Returns
  • None
Notes
  • This function is mainly for runtime API help while using Hammerspoon's Console

  • Documentation files registered with hs.doc.registerJSONFile or hs.doc.preloadSpoonDocs that have not yet been actually loaded will be loaded when this command is invoked in any of the forms described below.

  • You can also access the results of this function by the following methods from the console:

    • help("prefix.path") -- quotes are required, e.g. help("hs.reload")
    • help.prefix.path -- no quotes are required, e.g. help.hs.reload
      • prefix can be one of the following:
        • hs - provides documentation for Hammerspoon's builtin commands and modules
        • spoon - provides documentation for the Spoons installed on your system
        • lua - provides documentation for the version of lua Hammerspoon is using, currently 5.3
          • lua._man - provides the table of contents for the Lua 5.3 manual. You can pull up a specific section of the lua manual by including the chapter (and subsection) like this: lua._man._3_4_8.
          • lua._C - provides documentation specifically about the Lua C API for use when developing modules which require external libraries.
      • path is one or more components, separated by a period specifying the module, submodule, function, or method you wish to view documentation for.
Source extensions/doc/doc.lua line 139
locateJSONFile
Signature hs.doc.locateJSONFile(module) -> path | false, message
Type Function
Description

Locates the JSON file corresponding to the specified third-party module or Spoon by searching package.path and package.cpath.

Parameters
  • module - the name of the module to locate a JSON file for
Returns
  • the path to the JSON file, or false, error if unable to locate a corresponding JSON file.
Notes
  • The JSON should be named 'docs.json' and located in the same directory as the lua or so file which is used when the module is loaded via require.

  • The documentation for core modules is stored in the JSON file specified by the hs.docstrings_json_file variable; this function is intended for use in locating the documentation file for third party modules and Spoons.

Source extensions/doc/doc.lua line 171
preloadSpoonDocs
Signature hs.doc.preloadSpoonDocs()
Type Function
Description

Locates all installed Spoon documentation files and marks them for loading the next time the hs.doc.help function is invoked.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • None
Source extensions/doc/doc.lua line 216
registeredFiles
Signature hs.doc.registeredFiles() -> table
Type Function
Description

Returns the list of registered JSON files.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • a table containing the list of registered JSON files
Notes
  • The table returned by this function has a metatable including a __tostring method which allows you to see the list of registered files by simply typing hs.doc.registeredFiles() in the Hammerspoon Console.

  • By default, the internal core documentation and portions of the Lua 5.3 manual, located at http://www.lua.org/manual/5.3/manual.html, are already registered for inclusion within this documentation object.

  • You can unregister these defaults if you wish to start with a clean slate with the following commands:

    • hs.doc.unregisterJSONFile(hs.docstrings_json_file) -- to unregister the Hammerspoon API docs
    • hs.doc.unregisterJSONFile((hs.docstrings_json_file:gsub("/docs.json$","/lua.json"))) -- to unregister the Lua 5.3 Documentation.
Source extensions/doc/doc.lua line 109
registerJSONFile
Signature hs.doc.registerJSONFile(jsonfile, [isSpoon]) -> status[, message]
Type Function
Description

Register a JSON file for inclusion when Hammerspoon generates internal documentation.

Parameters
  • jsonfile - A string containing the location of a JSON file
  • isSpoon - an optional boolean, default false, specifying that the documentation should be added to the spoons sub heading in the documentation hierarchy.
Returns
  • status - Boolean flag indicating if the file was registered or not. If the file was not registered, then a message indicating the error is also returned.
Notes
  • this function just registers the documentation file; it won't actually be loaded and parsed until hs.doc.help is invoked.
Source extensions/doc/libdoc.m line 264
unregisterJSONFile
Signature hs.doc.unregisterJSONFile(jsonfile) -> status[, message]
Type Function
Description

Remove a JSON file from the list of registered files.

Parameters
  • jsonfile - A string containing the location of a JSON file
Returns
  • status - Boolean flag indicating if the file was unregistered or not. If the file was not unregistered, then a message indicating the error is also returned.
Notes
  • This function requires the rebuilding of the entire documentation tree for all remaining registered files, so the next time help is queried with hs.doc.help, there may be a slight one-time delay.
Source extensions/doc/libdoc.m line 303