ap

CLI tool that builds the exact folder and zip structure Canvas wants for C assignment submissions.

Install

Cargo (any platform)

cargo install assignment_packer

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew tap cat-forgor/ap https://github.com/cat-forgor/AssignmentPacker
brew install ap

Scoop (Windows)

scoop bucket add ap https://github.com/cat-forgor/AssignmentPacker
scoop install ap

Chocolatey (Windows)

choco install ap

WinGet (Windows)

winget install cat-forgor.ap

Nix (NixOS / any platform)

nix run github:cat-forgor/AssignmentPacker              # try without installing
nix profile install github:cat-forgor/AssignmentPacker  # install to profile

AUR (Arch Linux)

yay -S ap-bin

Debian/Ubuntu (.deb)

Grab the .deb from releases:

sudo dpkg -i ap_*.deb

Windows Installer (.msi)

Download ap-windows-x64.msi from releases and run it. It installs to Program Files and adds ap to your PATH automatically.

Pre-built binaries

Head to releases and grab the latest binary.

Windows: rename it to ap.exe and add it to your PATH.

Linux/macOS:

chmod +x ap-linux-x64
mv ap-linux-x64 ~/.local/bin/ap

From source

Requires Rust 1.85+ (edition 2024):

cargo install --path .

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Quick start

Two commands and you're good to go:

ap init  # saves your name, ID, and auto-doc preference
ap -a 7  # auto-detects your .c file and packs everything up

Once you've run ap init, you'll rarely need to type anything more than ap -a 7.

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Usage

# full command with auto-doc
ap -a 7 -n JoeBloggs -i 123456789 -c main.c --auto-doc

# bring your own doc instead
ap -a 7 -n JoeBloggs -i 123456789 -c main.c -d Assignment7_JoeBloggs_123456789.doc

# minimal (once you've run ap init)
ap -a 7

# pipe stdin input non-interactively
ap -a 7 --input "5\nhello"

# custom timeout in seconds (clamped to 5 to 300)
ap -a 7 --timeout 5

Flags

Flag	Short	Description
--assignment	-a	Assignment number or label (e.g. 7 or Assignment7)
--name	-n	Student name
--id	-i	Student ID
--c-file	-c	Path to .c file (auto-detected if only one exists in cwd)
--doc-file	-d	Path to an existing .doc file
--auto-doc		Generate a .doc automatically
--run-command		Custom shell command to compile and run your program
--input		Pipe stdin input (supports \n, \r, \0, \xNN escapes)
--timeout		Run timeout in seconds (default 30, clamped to 5 to 300)
--run-display-template		Customize what the terminal prompt shows in the screenshot
--theme	-t	Screenshot theme (default, light, dracula, monokai, solarized)
--output-dir	-o	Output directory (defaults to .)
--no-watermark		Turns off the watermark at the bottom of the doc
--force	-f	Overwrite existing output

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Config

ap init              # interactive first-time setup
ap config show       # view your saved defaults
ap config path       # print the config file location
ap config editor     # open the config in your editor
ap config reset      # wipe everything

Setting defaults

Save any CLI flag as a default using ap config set:

ap config set --name JoeBloggs --id 123456789 --auto-doc true
ap config set --theme dracula
ap config set --output-dir ~/submissions
ap config set --watermark false
ap config set --run-command "make && ./a.out"
ap config set --run-display-template "./{c_stem}"
ap config set --editor "code --wait"
ap config set --input "5\nhello"
ap config set --timeout 45

Need to clear a saved value? Use the --clear-* variants:

ap config set --clear-run-command
ap config set --clear-input
ap config set --clear-run-display-template
ap config set --clear-theme
ap config set --clear-editor

CLI flags always override config values. The config itself is plain TOML and lives at ~/.config/assignment_packer/config.toml on Linux/macOS or %APPDATA%\assignment_packer\config.toml on Windows.

You can set a preferred editor with --editor. If you don't, ap checks $VISUAL and $EDITOR first then looks for common editors in your PATH.

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Auto-doc

Turn on --auto-doc and ap takes care of everything for you:

1. Finds gcc or clang and compiles your .c file
2. Runs the binary and captures stdout/stderr
3. Renders a terminal screenshot as a PNG
4. Packages your code, the screenshot, and the captured output into a .doc

Custom run command

By default ap compiles with gcc/clang and runs the result. Need something different? Just override it:

# custom compile + run
ap -a 7 --run-command "make && ./myprogram"

# run a pre-built binary
ap -a 7 --run-command "./a.out"

Save it to config so you don't have to type it every time:

ap config set --run-command "make && ./myprogram"
ap config set --clear-run-command   # remove it later

Programs that need input

If your program reads from stdin, you've got two options:

# 1) input directly
ap -a 7 --input "42"
ap -a 7 --input "5\nhello\n3.14"

# 2) interactive terminal input (default when --input isn't set)
ap -a 7

Interactive mode prints a hint while your program runs:

Program is running. If it doesn't exit on its own, press Ctrl+Z/Ctrl+D.

Display template

The screenshot shows a $ command prompt line. By default it uses the assignment name like $ Assignment7. Use --run-display-template to change it:

ap -a 7 --run-display-template "./home/{name}/assignments/{assignment}/{c_stem}"
# expands to something like: ./home/cat/assignments/19/main

Available placeholders:

Placeholder	Example value
{assignment}	Assignment7
{assignment_number}	7
{name}	JoeBloggs
{id}	123456789
{c_file}	main.c
{c_stem}	main

Save it to config like anything else:

ap config set --run-display-template "./{c_stem}"

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Themes

Five built-in themes control how the terminal screenshot looks in your doc:

default light dracula monokai solarized

ap themes                                        # list them
ap -a 7 -c main.c --auto-doc --theme dracula    # use one

Want a custom theme? Drop a TOML file into ~/.config/assignment_packer/themes/:

# ~/.config/assignment_packer/themes/nord.toml
bg = "#2E3440"
fg = "#D8DEE9"
scale = 2     # 1 to 4
padding = 16  # max 64
font = "JetBrainsMono-Regular.ttf"  # relative to themes dir, or absolute path
font_size = 16                      # pixel height (8 to 72)

Then use it with --theme nord. Subdirectories work fine too:

~/.config/assignment_packer/themes/
  nord.toml
  dark/
    dracula.toml
    monokai.toml

ap -a 7 --theme dark/dracula

Screenshots are capped at 8192×8192 pixels.

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Updates

Check if a newer release is out:

ap update

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Output structure

Running ap -a 7 -n JoeBloggs -i 123456789 produces:

Assignment7_JoeBloggs_123456789_Submission/
  Assignment7_JoeBloggs_123456789.doc   # if --auto-doc or --doc-file was used
  main.c                                 # your source file
  ... (all non-binary files in cwd)
Assignment7_JoeBloggs_123456789_Submission.zip

Upload the zip to Canvas and you're done.