How to Ask Checkbox Questions

Checkbox questions allow users to select multiple options. Use them for feature selection, configuration options, or any multi-choice scenario.

Shorthand Form

template.ts

const features = await i.checkbox(
  'Select features',                        
Question message shown to user
  ['ESLint', 'Prettier', 'Jest', 'Docker'], 
Available options
  'project.features',                       
Unique key for answer reuse
  'Choose features to include'              
Helper description
);
// Returns: string[] - e.g., ['ESLint', 'Jest']

template.py

features = await i.checkbox(
    'Select features',                        
Question message shown to user
    ['ESLint', 'Prettier', 'Jest', 'Docker'], 
Available options
    'project.features',                       
Unique key for answer reuse
    'Choose features to include'              
Helper description
)
# Returns: list[str] - e.g., ['ESLint', 'Jest']

Template.cs

var features = await i.Checkbox(
    "Select features",                        
Question message shown to user
    new[] { "ESLint", "Prettier", "Jest", "Docker" }, 
Available options
    "project.features",                       
Unique key for answer reuse
    "Choose features to include"              
Helper description
);
// Returns: string[] - e.g., ["ESLint", "Jest"]

Object Form (with validation and defaults)

template.ts

const features = await i.checkbox({
  type: QuestionType.Checkbox,
  id: 'project.features',
  message: 'Select features',
  desc: 'Choose features to include',
  options: ['ESLint', 'Prettier', 'Jest', 'Docker'],
  default: ['ESLint'],  
  validate: (selected) => {
    if (selected.length === 0) return 'Select at least one feature';
    if (selected.length > 3) return 'Maximum 3 features allowed';
    return null;
  }
});

template.py

from cyanprintsdk import QuestionType

features = await i.checkbox(
    type=QuestionType.CHECKBOX,
    id='project.features',
    message='Select features',
    desc='Choose features to include',
    options=['ESLint', 'Prettier', 'Jest', 'Docker'],
    default=['ESLint'],  
    validate=lambda selected: (
        'Select at least one feature' if len(selected) == 0
        else 'Maximum 3 features allowed' if len(selected) > 3
        else None
    )
)

Template.cs

var features = await i.Checkbox(new CheckboxQuestion
{
    Type = QuestionType.Checkbox,
    Id = "project.features",
    Message = "Select features",
    Desc = "Choose features to include",
    Options = new[] { "ESLint", "Prettier", "Jest", "Docker" },
    Default = new[] { "ESLint" },  
    Validate = selected =>
    {
        if (selected.Length == 0) return "Select at least one feature";
        if (selected.Length > 3) return "Maximum 3 features allowed";
        return null;
    }
});

Using Results

Conditional Files Based on Selection

processor.ts

const features = await i.checkbox(
  'Select features',
  ['ESLint', 'Prettier', 'Jest'],
  'project.features',
  'Choose features'
);

const files = [
  { root: 'templates/base', glob: '**/*', exclude: [], type: GlobType.Template }
];

if (features.includes('ESLint')) {  
  files.push({ root: 'templates/eslint', glob: '**/*', exclude: [], type: GlobType.Copy });
}

if (features.includes('Jest')) {
  files.push({ root: 'templates/jest', glob: '**/*', exclude: [], type: GlobType.Copy });
}

processor.py

features = await i.checkbox(
    'Select features',
    ['ESLint', 'Prettier', 'Jest'],
    'project.features',
    'Choose features'
)

files = [
    {'root': 'templates/base', 'glob': '**/*', 'exclude': [], 'type': GlobType.Template}
]

if 'ESLint' in features:  
    files.append({'root': 'templates/eslint', 'glob': '**/*', 'exclude': [], 'type': GlobType.Copy})

if 'Jest' in features:
    files.append({'root': 'templates/jest', 'glob': '**/*', 'exclude': [], 'type': GlobType.Copy})

Processor.cs

var features = await i.Checkbox(
    "Select features",
    new[] { "ESLint", "Prettier", "Jest" },
    "project.features",
    "Choose features"
);

var files = new List<CyanGlob>
{
    new() { Root = "templates/base", Glob = "**/*", Exclude = Array.Empty<string>(), Type = GlobType.Template }
};

if (features.Contains("ESLint"))  
{
    files.Add(new() { Root = "templates/eslint", Glob = "**/*", Exclude = Array.Empty<string>(), Type = GlobType.Copy });
}

if (features.Contains("Jest"))
{
    files.Add(new() { Root = "templates/jest", Glob = "**/*", Exclude = Array.Empty<string>(), Type = GlobType.Copy });
}

Template Variables

config: {
  vars: {
    features: features.join(', '),         // "ESLint, Jest"
    hasEslint: features.includes('ESLint') ? 'true' : 'false',
    hasJest: features.includes('Jest') ? 'true' : 'false'
  }
}

'config': {
    'vars': {
        'features': ', '.join(features),
        'has_eslint': 'true' if 'ESLint' in features else 'false',
        'has_jest': 'true' if 'Jest' in features else 'false'
    }
}

Config = new {
    vars = new {
        features = string.Join(", ", features),
        hasEslint = features.Contains("ESLint") ? "true" : "false",
        hasJest = features.Contains("Jest") ? "true" : "false"
    }
}