Welcome to your go-to resource for mastering the CSO-CLI (CSS Optimizer Command Line Interface). In this post, we’ll explore how to easily install and use CSO to streamline your CSS files for greater efficiency. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

• Install
• Usage
• Source Maps
• Usage Data
• Debugging
• Related Projects
• License

Install

To get started with CSO-CLI, you need to install it via npm:

npm install -g csso-cli

Usage

Using CSO-CLI is straightforward! The basic command is:

csso [input] [options]

Options

Here are some useful options you can use:

• --comments value – Preserve specific comments; options include ‘exclamation’, ‘first-exclamation’, or ‘none’.
• --debug [level] – Output intermediate states during compression for troubleshooting.
• -i, --input filename – Specify an input file.
• -o, --output filename – Direct the output to a specified file.
• --source-map destination – Generate a source map; can be inline or to a file.

Want to see how it all works together? Consider the following analogy:

Analogy: CSO-CLI as a Chef Preparing a Meal

Imagine CSO-CLI as a talented chef in a busy restaurant kitchen. The chef takes raw ingredients (your CSS files) and uses various tools (options) to refine them into a beautifully plated dish (optimized CSS). Just as different cooking techniques such as boiling or sautéing play a crucial role in flavor and presentation, each option and command in CSO-CLI enhances the efficiency and performance of your CSS.

Source Maps

Did you know that source maps can be generated using CSO-CLI? By default, source maps are not created. To enable them, use the --source-map option:

csso my.css --source-map inline

Usage Data

CSO-CLI can leverage usage data for better compression. This data can be provided in JSON format using the --usage option. To read more on this, visit the Usage Data Documentation.

Debugging

It’s always good to know what’s happening behind the scenes. Use the --debug option to output useful debugging information. For example:

echo .test color: #ff0000; csso --debug

This command will show detailed parsing and compression steps, making it easier to pinpoint issues if any arise.

Related Projects

• CSSO – The core CSS minifier.
• Gulp: gulp-csso
• Grunt: grunt-csso
• Broccoli: broccoli-csso
• PostCSS: postcss-csso
• Webpack: csso-loader

License

CSO-CLI is licensed under the MIT License, making it a great choice for both personal projects and commercial applications.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues while using CSO-CLI, consider the following tips:

• Ensure that you have correctly installed `csso-cli` by running npm list -g --depth=0.
• Double-check your input and output file paths for accuracy.
• Use the --debug option to gain insight into any errors.

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