Configuration Reference¶

Demonator is configured with a YAML file (default: demo.yml).

Global options¶

Option	Type	Default	Description
`prompt`	string	`{green}~{reset} {blue}${reset}`	Prompt displayed before each command
`clear`	bool	`false`	Clear terminal before starting
`speed`	integer	--	Characters per second (overrides `delay`)
`delay`	integer	`50`	Milliseconds between characters
`jitter`	integer	`40`	Random timing variation as a percentage
`pause`	integer	`200`	Extra milliseconds after punctuation
`highlight`	bool	`false`	Syntax-highlight commands as they are typed
`auto_advance`	integer	--	Auto-advance delay in ms (skips Enter prompt)
`setup`	string[]	--	Commands to run silently before the demo
`teardown`	string[]	--	Commands to run silently after the demo

Steps¶

A demo is defined as a list of steps. Each step is one of:

Command step¶

- text: "echo hello"
  speed: 30           # override global speed
  delay: 40           # override global delay
  jitter: 20          # override global jitter
  pause: 100          # override global pause

If both speed and delay are set on the same step, speed wins.

Directive¶

Simple string steps that control flow:

- pause    # show prompt, wait for Enter, don't run anything
- clear    # clear the terminal screen

Comment¶

Styled text that appears without a prompt:

- comment: "Explanatory text here"
  style: dim           # optional: dim, bold, italic, or a color name

Per-step command options¶

These fields are available on command steps (text: steps):

Field	Type	Default	Description
`text`	string	required	The command to type and execute
`speed`	integer	--	Characters per second for this step
`delay`	integer	--	Milliseconds between characters for this step
`jitter`	integer	--	Timing variation percentage for this step
`pause`	integer	--	Extra punctuation pause for this step
`capture`	object	--	Capture output with regex (see below)
`fake_output`	string	--	Pre-defined output to show
`output_speed`	integer	--	Characters per second for typing fake output
`execute`	bool	`true`	Whether to actually run the command
`wait_for`	string	--	Regex pattern to wait for in output
`timeout`	integer	`30`	Seconds before wait_for gives up
`wait`	integer	--	Per-step auto-advance override (ms)
`interact`	object[]	--	Expect-style interaction pairs
`if`	string	--	Only run if this captured variable is set
`unless`	string	--	Only run if this captured variable is NOT set

Capture block¶

capture:
  name: my_var           # variable name for later substitution
  pattern: "regex (\\w+)" # regex with one capture group

The first capture group is extracted from combined stdout+stderr and stored. Reference it in later steps with {my_var}.

Interact block¶

interact:
  - expect: "prompt text"    # string to match in stdout
    send: "response"         # text to send (newline appended automatically)

Chapters¶

An alternative to flat steps. Cannot be used together with steps.

chapters:
  - name: "Section Name"
    steps:
      - text: "command here"

Prompt colors¶

Available color placeholders for the prompt string:

Placeholder	Effect
`{black}`	Black
`{red}`	Red
`{green}`	Green
`{yellow}`	Yellow
`{blue}`	Blue
`{magenta}`	Magenta
`{cyan}`	Cyan
`{white}`	White
`{bold}`	Bold
`{dim}`	Dim
`{reset}`	Reset

CLI flags¶

Flag	Description
`-c, --config`	Path to config file (default: `demo.yml`)
`--dry-run`	Preview demo flow without executing
`--watch`	Re-run demo when config file changes