⚙️ Automating My WorkSuite Development Workflow — Part 2

 

In my previous post, I introduced how I started automating parts of my development workflow for WorkSuite (formerly my Todo App). The idea was simple: reduce repetitive steps, speed up testing, and keep my development environment organized.

Now, in Part 2, I’ve taken things further with several enhancements that make working with my microservices setup much smoother. 🚀

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🔧 Enhancements Made

1. New Toolbar for Better Control

I’ve added a toolbar with two handy buttons:

• Clear Log on Start → When enabled, the log panel resets automatically every time I start an app. No more clutter!

• Sequential Run → Instead of running everything at once, this ensures services start in sequence — super helpful when dependencies matter.

2. Manual Log Clearing

Sometimes you just need a fresh view. At the bottom, I added a Clear Log button to manually wipe the logs anytime I want.

3. Color-Coded Logs

Logs can get messy fast, so I introduced color-coded log lines for better readability:

• 🔴 Red → whenever the word error appears

• 🔵 Blue → whenever debug point appears

• 🟦 Cyan → when system out logs are present

Now I can quickly scan for what matters most.

4. Tab Widget Layout

To keep things organized, I enclosed all existing widgets into a tabbed interface.

• Tab 1 (Run Apps): Where I manage my services (backend, frontend, etc.)

• Tab 2 (Test API): A dedicated space for API testing.

5. API Testing Tab for Microservices

Since I’ve moved WorkSuite into a microservices architecture, testing has become more complex. Each service often requires authentication tokens. To handle this:

• The left panel lets me enter a curl command.

• The right panel shows the logs generated by that command (read-only).

• A token capture field automatically grabs the generated token from login responses. This saves me from manually copying and pasting tokens every time I test a new endpoint.

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🌐 Why This Matters

When building with microservices, APIs often depend on authentication and sequencing. Manually starting each service, grabbing tokens, and testing endpoints becomes a time sink.

By automating these parts, I can:

• Start and stop services with fewer clicks

• Read logs at a glance

• Capture tokens automatically for faster API testing

• Keep everything neatly organized in one window

This means I spend less time managing my environment and more time actually building features for WorkSuite.

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🚀 What’s Next

The next step is to refine the API testing tab further — possibly adding:

• Preconfigured curl templates for common API calls

• History of executed requests

• Export/import of tokens for even quicker workflows

Automation is all about small improvements stacking up over time. With each enhancement, WorkSuite’s development environment becomes more developer-friendly.