Compile-AHK CLI

Overview

Compile-AHK is a Featureful script designed to Simplify and Enhance the process of Compiling, Executing and Developing AutoHotkey scripts with Enhanced CLI Functionalities. It allows for easy compilation and execution of AHK scripts and Watch for changes with various customization options such as architecture selection, compression, resource embedding, and more.

Features

• Supports AutoHotkey v1 and v2 compilation
• Compatible with both 32 and 64 bit architectures
• Allows compression using UPX and MPRESS
• Customizable output directories and filenames
• Supports resource embedding and icon customization
• Pre- and Post-build command execution
• Watch mode for automatic re-execution on file change
• Awesome and Colorful verbose logging and informative error handling See
• Exit Codes for better integration with other scripts and tools See

Installation

1. Clone this repo or download one of the Releases.
2. Place the compile-ahk path in a globally accessible location.

Usage

Run the script using the following syntax: (in No perticular order)

$ compile-ahk [-f, --file] <file|dir> [Args] [Options]

[Args] are the Arguments to be passed to ahk file in watch mode.

[Options] are the folowing:

• Short

Flag	Short	Value	Description
--file	-f	<path>	Specify the input AHK script file or directory. (regex: \.ahk[12]?$)
--dir	-d	<path>	Define the executable output directory. (default: dist)
--versions	-v	<list>	Compile for multiple versions. (e.g, "32 64 "32-mpress" ...")
--icon	-i	<icon>	Set a custom icon for the executable.
--compress	-c	<method>	Select a compression method (mpress or upx).
--arch	-a	<32|64>	Choose between 32 and 64 bit AutoHotkey architectures. (default: sys_arch)
--resource	-r	<res-id>	Specify resource ID.
--seperator	-s	<char>	Define the separator between name and versions. (default: -)
--codepage	-p	<code>	Specify codepage.
--watch	-w		Watch ahk file for changes and execute them.
--quiet	-q		Disable verbose output.
--msg	-m		Use default msgbox output.
--clean	-n		Clear the output directory before compilation.
--gui	-g		Use the GUI version of the compiler.
--help	-h		Display help menu.

• Long

Flag	Value	Description
--pre-build	<cmd>	Register a pre-build script or command.
--post-build	<cmd>	Register a post-build script or command.
--ahk-dir	<path>	Specify the AutoHotkey installation directory.
--ahk-ver	<v1|v2>	Set the AutoHotkey version. (default: v2)
--no-emit		Don't Emit executable files.
--no-exit		Don't Exit on fatal errors. (e.g, syntax)

Details

• -f, --file flag is optional, but the file path is required, else the script will find the first ahk file in current directry. To input a directory, add a slash at the end of the path. like compile-ahk -f mydir/, and the script will find the first ahk file.
• -v, --versions flag can control: Architecture, and Compression methods ( overwrites -c, --compress and -a, --arch flags )

Default parameters

• versions = "32 64 32-mpress 64-mpress 32-upx 64-upx"
• ahk_dir = "%ProgramFiles%\AutoHotkey"
• ahk_exe = "%bin_compiler%\Ahk2Exe.exe" and "%ahk_dir%\Ahk2Exe.exe"
• ahk_out_dir = "dist"
• ahk_in_file = "*.ahk" first match
• ahk_arch = "!sys_arch!"
• ahk_ver = "v2"
• compressor = ""
• resource = ""
• clean = "" if true → clean every compilation
• icon = ""
• sp = "-"
• pre-build = ""
• post-build = ""

Tip

For more tuning Check __global-vars__ to match the script to your specific needs.

Examples

Watch Mode

$ compile-ahk --watch myscript.ahk arg1 arg2 ...

Basic Compilation

$ compile-ahk myscript.ahk

Compiles myscript.ahk using default settings. This will give:

• ./dist/myscript-64.exe
• ./dist/myscript-32.exe
• ./dist/myscript-64-upx.exe
• ./dist/myscript-32-upx.exe
• ./dist/myscript-64-mpress.exe
• ./dist/myscript-32-mpress.exe

Specify Output Directory and Versions

$ compile-ahk -f myscript.ahk -d build -v "32 64 64-mpress"

Output

• ./build/myscript-64.exe
• ./build/myscript-32.exe
• ./build/myscript-64-mpress.exe

Compiles myscript.ahk into output/ with multiple architecture and compression settings.

Set Custom Ico, Enable Compression and Force an Arch

$ compile-ahk -f myscript.ahk -i myicon.ico -c upx -a 32 -v " 64 "" " -s "_x"

Output

• ./dist/myscript.exe → 32bit
• ./dist/myscript_x64.exe → 64bit

Force using 32bit Arch for unknown version like "", uses myicon.ico as the application icon and compresses the executable using UPX.

Run Pre- and Post-Build Commands

$ compile-ahk -f myscript.ahk --pre-build "set "AHK_ENV=BUILD"" --post-build "7z a "./build.zip" "dist/""

Output

• ./build.zip
• ./dist/myscript-64.exe
• ./dist/myscript-32.exe
• ...

Set AHK_ENV to BUILD before compiling and Execute 7z to bundle output executables to a zip file after compiling.

Logging & Debugging

The script provides log messages for different levels:

• [INFO] - General information about the process.
• [WARN] - Warnings about potential issues.
• [ERROR] - Errors that prevent successful compilation.
• [SUCCESS] - Indicates a successful build or execution.

Exit Codes

• 0 - Successful execution or compilation.
• 1 - Error during pre-compilation checks.
• 2 - Compilation failure (fatal error).

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Author: Benzaria LICENSE: MIT

Version: 1.2 Updated: 20/03/2005