Creating the mobile-spec app

createmobilespec.js is a script for creating a test app that has:

local cordova-mobile-spec
a cordova.js file that is freshly built from the local cordova-js folder
the platform (e.g. Android) from the local platform folder (e.g. cordova-android)
all the plugins from the local plugin folders (e.g. cordova-plugin-device)
it was built using the local cordova-cli and cordova-plugman folders

In other words, it is a great way to test your local development efforts.

The script also has options for creating the test app using a globally-installed npm module, a way to use the platform's cordova.js file instead of building it from the local cordova-js git repo, and a way to use the platform-centered workflow instead of the CLI.

Requirements and Preparation

Your Cordova projects have to be checked out and set up in a very specific way: All checkouts have to be siblings (= same parent folder) and the common Cordova libraries have to be npm-linked.
The easiest and quickest way to achieve this is by using cordova-coho:
```
# Create a new folder, e.g. `cordova` and `cd cordova` into it.
git clone https://github.com/apache/cordova-coho.git
cd cordova-coho & npm install & cd ..
node cordova-coho/coho repo-clone -r mobile-spec -r tools -r plugins -r active-platforms
node cordova-coho/coho npm-link
```
After this you should have 30+ folders in your cordova folder.
As cordova-mobile-spec has a special structure, you have to install dependencies in createmobilespec manually:
```
cd cordova-mobile-spec/createmobilespec & npm install & cd ../..
```
You are now ready to use createmobilespec.js with the commands below.

Usage

The createmobilespec.js script also needs to be invoked from the “main” folder you created before (cordova):

cordova-mobile-spec/createmobilespec/createmobilespec.js

On Windows, prefix all commands with node:

node cordova-mobile-spec/createmobilespec/createmobilespec.js

To see the options available in the script, run it with the -h option to print the online help.

(node) cordova-mobile-spec/createmobilespec/createmobilespec.js -h

If anything is going wrong and the existing output does not help, add the --debug parameter:

(node) cordova-mobile-spec/createmobilespec/createmobilespec.js --debug

Create the App

Caution: If the generated mobilespec project already exists, it is recommended to delete the project before proceeding.

To for example create the app for the Android platform, run:

(node) cordova-mobile-spec/createmobilespec/createmobilespec.js --android

Run the App

After the script successfully finished and created the app, you can run the app on a device or simulator, using the standard method for that platform(s). For example on Android:

cd mobilespec
./cordova run android

Potential Quirks and Issues

Some known quirks and issues:

npm install inside cordova-js is needed to resolve a local grunt issue