Open / OpenForWriting

The two entry points for accessing a Mendix project from Go code.

Read-Only Access

Use modelsdk.Open() when you only need to inspect the project:

import modelsdk "github.com/mendixlabs/mxcli"

reader, err := modelsdk.Open("/path/to/MyApp.mpr")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
defer reader.Close()

// Query the project
modules, _ := reader.ListModules()
dm, _ := reader.GetDomainModel(modules[0].ID)

The reader provides all query methods (listing modules, entities, microflows, pages, etc.) but cannot modify the project. The .mpr file is opened with a read-only SQLite connection.

Read-Write Access

Use modelsdk.OpenForWriting() when you need to create or modify elements:

import modelsdk "github.com/mendixlabs/mxcli"

writer, err := modelsdk.OpenForWriting("/path/to/MyApp.mpr")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
defer writer.Close()

// Access read methods through the embedded reader
reader := writer.Reader()
modules, _ := reader.ListModules()

// Create new elements
entity := modelsdk.NewEntity("Customer")
writer.CreateEntity(domainModelID, entity)

The writer opens the .mpr file with a read-write SQLite connection. Always back up your .mpr file before modifying it – the library writes directly to the database.

Format Auto-Detection

Both functions automatically detect the MPR format version:

No configuration is needed – the library inspects the file structure and selects the appropriate reader/writer implementation.

Error Handling

Both functions return an error if:

• The file path does not exist
• The file is not a valid SQLite database
• The file is not a recognized MPR format
• (For OpenForWriting) the file is read-only or locked by another process

reader, err := modelsdk.Open("/path/to/project.mpr")
if err != nil {
    // Handle: file not found, not a valid MPR, etc.
    log.Fatalf("Failed to open project: %v", err)
}

Pure Go – No CGO Required

The library uses modernc.org/sqlite, a pure Go SQLite implementation. No C compiler, CGO, or system SQLite library is needed. This simplifies cross-compilation and deployment.