nerva generate

Generate a new component, its test file, and register it in nerva.yaml.

Usage

nerva generate <type> <name>
nerva g <type> <name>

g is an alias for generate.

Component types

Type	Description
agent	An autonomous agent that handles tasks
tool	A capability the agent can invoke
middleware	A pipeline stage that transforms requests or responses
router	Intent classifier that routes messages to handlers

What it creates

For each component, the generator:

1. Creates the component file from a language-specific template
2. Creates a test file in the tests/ directory
3. Registers the component in nerva.yaml with its name and path

Tip

Use nerva g instead of nerva generate to save keystrokes. Both forms are identical in behavior.

Python layout

nerva g agent weather-lookup

Creates:

agents/weather-lookup.py       # Component file
tests/test_weather-lookup.py   # Test file

TypeScript layout

nerva g agent weather-lookup

Creates:

src/agents/weather-lookup.ts        # Component file
tests/weather-lookup.test.ts        # Test file

Directory mapping

Type	Python directory	TypeScript directory
agent	agents/	src/agents/
tool	tools/	src/tools/
middleware	middleware/	src/middleware/
router	routers/	src/routers/

Template variables

Templates receive these variables:

Variable	Example	Description
name	weather-lookup	Component name as provided (kebab-case)
class_name	WeatherLookup	PascalCase version of the name
type	agent	The component type
description	A agent named weather-lookup	Default description

nerva.yaml registration

After generation, the component is appended to the appropriate list in nerva.yaml:

agents:
  - name: weather-lookup
    path: agents/weather-lookup.py

Note

Duplicate names are silently skipped — the CLI will not re-register an existing component. If you need to regenerate a component, delete it from nerva.yaml first.

Custom templates via plugins

The built-in types (agent, tool, middleware, router) use bundled templates. To add custom component types, install a plugin that provides additional templates.

Examples

# Generate an agent
nerva generate agent order-processor

# Generate a tool (short alias)
nerva g tool web-scraper

# Generate middleware
nerva g middleware rate-limiter

# Generate a router
nerva g router intent-classifier