# Using the tool

The main `12step` command has several subcommands

```
Usage: 12step [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Options:
  -c, --config TEXT  Configs file for runtime vars. Can pass multiple to
                     override options.
  -v, --verbose      More verbose logging
  --logfile TEXT     Optional log file to wrie to
  --help             Show this message and exit.

Commands:
  download  Downloads meeting data from your site_url The site must be a...
  flask     Run Flask webapp for Development.
  init      Prompts you to create a custom config Iniitialize your custom...
  pdf       Formats meeting PDFs
  shell     Drops into an IPython shell Contains the context, config and...

```

## Downloading Data

Run the `12step download` script to fetch data from a WordPress site with the 12 Step Meeting plugin installed. For example using the [Baltimore Intergroup ](https://baltimoreaa.org/) site.

```
12step --config my.config.yaml -v download -u https://baltimoreaa.org
```

The data will now be stored in JSON files in the project root.

## Making Documents

### Commmand Line

#### PDF

Run the `12step pdf` script to generate the PDF

```
12step --config my.config.yaml -v pdf
```

The PDF file will be generated in the project directory in the format `<month> <year> Directory.pdf` with the current date.

####  HTML

Run the `12step html` script to generate the HTML page which weasyprint renders to PDF.
It's a good way to see what is rendered ahead of time and check any images/css that are included from your config.

```
12step --config my.config.yaml -v pdf
```

The HTML file will be generated in the project directory in the format `<month> <year> Directory.pdf` with the current date.

### From the Web App

**You must install the Flask package before running this

Run the Flask server to start the local web app running.

```
12step flask
```

Hosts a webapp that will render the HTML or PDF in your browser for easy viewing.

The app will now be available on [http://localhost:5000](http://localhost:5000)

If you change any config or code, you will have to restart the service as live reload doesnt pick up on changes and most of the code is cached.

Please never use this webapp in production. It takes a long time and a lot of resources to render PDFs which makes it bad for app deployment. Instead, run the `12step pdf` command on a regular interval (cron) to write the PDF file to a location your site can serve (eg wp-content)

#### HTML

The fastest way to test out the document is using the HTML formatter. It will not have the page cover, page header or some styles but it's a good quick sanity check.

[http://localhost:5000/meetings.html](http://localhost:5000/meetings.html)

#### PDF

The live PDF version takes a while to generate but is available at

[http://localhost:5000/meetings.pdf](http://localhost:5000/meetings.pdf)