haimantika mitra for Appwrite

Posted on Aug 30, 2023

Less Clicking, More Coding: Appwriter x Command Center

#programming #ai #opensource

Appwrite 1.4 is here, and with it comes a swag giveaway that we have been working on for a while: the Appwriter, an exclusively designed keyboard that celebrates keyboard shortcuts for Appwrite devs. It fits hand in hand with our newly released Command Center with AI assistant on the Appwrite console.

In this blog, we will briefly explain why keyboard shortcuts save devs' lives, how the Command Center supports this, examples of commands it triggers, and most of all, how you win one of the exclusive Appwriters?!

Keyboard shortcuts: Dedication to dev experience

We cannot stress it enough. We are dedicated to the developer experience. We consider it in everything we do, from our social posts to docs to our console, and with the release of our new AI-enhanced Command Center and the keyboard shortcuts it enables, we add to that commitment.

So let’s take a deeper look at the wonderful world of keyboard shortcuts, according to ChatGPT:

“Keyboard shortcuts are essential to developers because they significantly enhance efficiency by enabling quick and seamless execution of tasks without the interruption of navigating menus or reaching for the mouse. They minimize context switching, allowing developers to maintain concentration while coding, and facilitate rapid navigation through codebases, ensuring smooth movement within complex projects.”

But let's be honest. We like keyboard shortcuts because hitting a bunch of keys looks cooler than clicking a mouse.

Smoother navigation: Command Center

The Appwrite Console is the main way developers manage their Appwrite instances. Since a lot of time is spent here, we wanted to make this experience as smooth as possible, which led us to build the Command Center. The Command Center is operated from your keyboard to minimize friction and maximize experience. The new feature combines smooth navigation with helpful AI search support to speed up your work.

Here’s a brief overview:

The Command Center is a menu that contains a large variety of shortcuts to the most used Console-related tasks. You can search through these commands or execute them with shortcuts. Some commands are context-aware, though, and will only appear on certain pages, as some commands may even open up sub-panels to enable advanced functionality.
With the AI assistant sub-panel, you can ask any Appwrite-related question, and it will answer in detail, fetching information from our public documentation, and giving code snippets where applicable.

Commands without a click

As we mentioned in our how it’s made blog, we know using a mouse is an extra action that is rather unwanted, so adding a keyboard-oriented feature that allows you to navigate the Appwrite Console with shortcuts alone will make certain devs very happy.

So let’s dive into what commands you can use, and how this would work.

Trigger warning, as we previously mentioned, some commands are context-aware, so you will need to understand which commands trigger what in each screen. In general, but not always, the keys A, S, D, and F navigate to Auth, Storage, Database, and Functions screens. You can press any of these keys to navigate instantly to one of these screens. You will also notice that some commands have keyboard shortcuts next to them. If you press these shortcuts while the Command Center is closed, the command will immediately be executed.

And to be sure you don't forget, we added them as icons to the new Appwriters - more on that later.

In each of these screens, you will see a button to create, either a User, Function, Database, or Bucket like in the screenshot below.

By pressing the C key, you activate this command and open up the screen where you can create your database in this case.

Give your database a name, we will use Database 1 here and press Enter to successfully create your database.

Now that you have your first database set up, you can go on and add your first collection by pressing C which will show the screen in which you can create your Collection. Add a Name, we will call our collection Movies and press Enter.

You now have a collection within your database! We now want to add Attributes to our Collections. For this, we will activate the Command Center using Command K.

Scroll down using the Arrow keys to Create attribute and press Enter.

Next, we get the option to choose an attribute. You can use the same logic as before using your Arrow and Enter keys to navigate to the next screen.

Now, we could run you through each screen of the Appwrite Console, but that wouldn’t be the point of this blog. We just wanted to show you how it works and its capabilities. So, with that in mind, let’s move on to the next part: the AI assistant.

Don’t search, just ask!

We have all been there, searching endlessly for an answer, while the best way is to ask someone who knows the answer. The same goes for searching on the Appwrite Console. Instead of clicking through the platform, you can just ask the AI. To navigate through the Appwrite Console with AI you activate the Command Center again and navigate to the Ask the AI field using the Arrow keys and pressing Enter, or don't activate the Command Center and just use A and I. This will open up the AI sub panel where you can enter your queries and get AI to search Appwrite documentation.

The screen shows examples of questions previously asked or you can use the search bar to enter your own query. Now this is still very much an experimental feature and we are looking into adding more capabilities in the future, but for now, you can use the AI to search for answers and save time.

For instance, you can enter the query Flutter SDK, and the AI sub-panel will reply on how to get started with the Appwrite Flutter SDK, saving you time searching through the documentation and saving you from context switching.

Or ask how you can add the REST API to your project and get an answer instantly.

So now that you know a bit more about the use of keyboard shortcuts and the Command Center on the Appwrite Console, we hope you are excited to start using the new feature.

Going beyond: an exclusively designed keyboard 💫

So what about this Appwriter then? At Appwrite, we love swag, and with the release of the Command Center, we had to do something special to complement the new feature. And what better way to celebrate a keyboard shortcut than an Appwrite mechanical keyboard. (Yes it is mechanical, no the image doesn’t do it justice.)

As you can see on the design, we added some of the most common icons to the keyboard itself so you can easily recognize what commands those keys trigger. And for obvious reasons, it’s pink.

We are very excited and cannot wait to get these Appwriters out into the hands of the community, as much as our own! The team has been geeking out about these beauties for a while now, and it’s great to finally be able to share what we have in store, literally. If you don’t win one, you can buy one in the future in our swag store.

How you can get yourself An Appwriter 🤩

All you have to do is join our giveaway by following these simple steps:

Go to our giveaway post on X
Comment what you plan to build with the Appwriter
Like & RT the tweet
And submit your entry here: https://apwr.dev/keyboard

We will give away three keyboards to three lucky winners, and there also ten Appwrite T-shirts up for grabs!

Resources

The Command Center is an exciting addition to our Console, and I hope this article gave you the information you needed to get started with keyboard shortcuts. If you have any feedback or questions, please let us know in the comments, or hop on over to our Discord server to talk with us!

For those who are curious to learn more about the Command Center and AI assistant, here are more resources for you to explore: