paritytech / paritytech/polkadot-cli
feat: list and describe pallet calls/extrinsics in inspect command
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- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 10
- Forks
- 2
- Avg merge
- 12h 35m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 4
Description
Summary
dot inspect currently only shows storage items and constants for a pallet. It should also list and describe pallet calls/extrinsics, which are arguably the most important metadata for users building transactions.
PalletInfo.calls already exists in metadata (src/core/metadata.ts:15) but inspect.ts never displays it — lines 56-98 only show storage + constants, lines 108-142 only search storage + constants.
Motivation
Users need to discover which calls a pallet exposes and what arguments they take before constructing a dot tx command. Currently they must use external tools (Subscan, Polkadot.js Apps) to find this information, defeating the purpose of an integrated CLI.
Proposed Changes
src/commands/inspect.ts:- Add calls count to pallet overview (alongside storage and constants counts)
- Add "Calls:" section listing all calls with their argument signatures
- Add call search at item-detail level (e.g.
dot inspect Balances.transfer_allow_death) - Include calls in the fuzzy suggestion list for typos
src/commands/inspect.test.ts: Test calls listing and individual call detail
Related Issues
- #54 (tx browsing) — complementary, not duplicative. #54 is about interactive browsing in
dot tx; this is aboutinspect. - #74 (storage details in inspect) — same file, different sections.
Priority
P1 — Unblocks discoverability for everything else. Quick win (size S).
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with src/commands/inspect.ts, especially the overview and search sections at lines 56-98 and 108-142, and review PalletInfo.calls in src/core/metadata.ts. Add call counts, argument signatures, detail lookup, and fuzzy suggestions, then run the related tests in src/commands/inspect.test.ts to verify listing and individual call details.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- typescript
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 52/100