How to Tailor Phoenix Generators for Specific Project Needs

Mark Ericksen presents an exploration into customizing Phoenix generators, providing a guide tailored for Elixir developers working with the Phoenix framework. The generators typically used to create standard components of an Elixir application, such as contexts and LiveViews, often produce a starting point that doesn't match the specific patterns that a project evolves to adopt. This results in developers copying and tweaking these files, a process that is both tedious and error-prone. Ericksen offers a solution that many may not realize exists—modifying the Phoenix generators themselves to fit the project's needs. By copying and customizing template files found in the 'priv/templates' directory of a Phoenix project, developers can ensure that the use of generators such as 'mix phx.gen.live' yield results that are in line with their established patterns and coding styles. Furthermore, these customizations remain within the project, ensuring that the tailored generators are accessible to all team members. The process outlined is to locate the current templates, copy and modify them in the project's 'priv/templates' directory, apply custom changes, and run the generator to produce a component that includes these customizations. Ericksen also discusses how to keep these templates out of the deployment by using a '.dockerignore' file. The ability to adjust how Phoenix generates code gives developers the ability to better align automated component generation with their established practices, benefiting both new and ongoing projects. Ericksen also stresses that this method ensures all team members have access to consistent project patterns, enhancing the overall development experience within the Phoenix ecosystem.