X-Gen - Experiment Generator

A CLI tool to generate experiment project structures with customizable templates. Perfect for researchers, data scientists, and developers who want consistent, well-structured experiment layouts.

Features

• 🚀 Quick Setup: Generate experiment structures with a single command
• 🧩 Template System: Built-in and custom template support
• 📁 Structured Layouts: Predefined directory structures for different experiment types
• 🔧 Extensible: Easy to add new templates for different experiment types
• 🤖 AI-Agent Ready: Designed to work seamlessly with AI agents for automated experiment setup

Installation

Prerequisites

• Rust (1.70 or later)

Install from Source

git clone https://github.com/your-username/x-gen.git
cd x-gen
cargo install --path .

Install from Crates.io (when published)

cargo install x-gen

Quick Start

Generate your first experiment:

x-gen my_experiment -d ./experiments -t basic

This creates:

• A directory structure based on the "basic" template
• A pre-filled README.md with sections for experiment planning
• Follow-up instructions for next steps

Usage

Basic Command

x-gen <EXPERIMENT_NAME> [OPTIONS]

Options

• -d, --destination <PATH>: Destination directory (default: "./")
• -t, --template <TEMPLATE>: Template name (default: "basic")

Examples

# Create experiment in current directory
x-gen my_research_project

# Create experiment in specific directory
x-gen ml_experiment -d ./projects

# Use a specific template
x-gen data_analysis -t basic

Templates

X-Gen supports both built-in and custom templates:

Built-in Templates

• basic: General machine learning experiment template

Custom Templates

You can create your own templates by adding them to ~/.x-gen/templates/:

1. Create a template directory: ~/.x-gen/templates/my_template/
2. Add a template definition: ~/.x-gen/templates/my_template/my_template.toml
3. Add supporting files: ~/.x-gen/templates/my_template/README.md, FOLLOW_UP_PROMPT.md

Template Structure

The template definition file uses TOML format with ASCII tree notation:

[example]
name = "my_template"

structure = """
├── README.md              # Experiment documentation
├── src/                   # Source code
│   └── main.py
├── data/                  # Data files
│   └── input.csv
├── results/               # Results and outputs
│   └── output.json
└── notebooks/             # Jupyter notebooks
    └── analysis.ipynb
"""

Extending X-Gen

Adding New Templates

1. Create a new template directory in ~/.x-gen/templates/
2. Define the structure in \{template_name}/{template_name}.toml`
3. Add custom README.md and FOLLOW_UP_PROMPT.md files as needed

Template File Structure

Each template directory should contain:

• \{name}.toml`: Defines the directory structure using ASCII tree notation
• README.md: Template for the experiment's README file
• FOLLOW_UP_PROMPT.md: Instructions shown after experiment creation

Example Custom Template

# Create a deep learning template
mkdir -p ~/.x-gen/templates/deep_learning

~/.x-gen/templates/deep_learning/deep_learning.toml:

[example]
name = "deep_learning"

structure = """
├── README.md
├── model/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── architecture.py
│   └── trainer.py
├── data/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── loader.py
│   └── preprocessing.py
├── experiments/
│   ├── config.yaml
│   └── run_experiment.py
├── results/
└── notebooks/
    └── exploratory_analysis.ipynb
""`

Integration with AI Agents

X-Gen is designed to work well with AI agents:

1. Generate experiment structure: x-gen my_experiment -t basic
2. AI agent fills in the README.md with experiment details
3. AI agent implements the experiment based on the structured layout
4. Follow-up instructions guide the next steps

Directory Structure

After installation, X-Gen creates: ~/.x-gen/ └── templates/ # Custom templates directory └── basic/ # Default template (auto-created)

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

For support, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.