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Synopsis

dms init [--type TYPE] [--output FILE]

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Description

dms init launches an interactive wizard that walks you through every field of the Dzaleka Metadata Standard schema. The wizard prompts for required fields (title, type, description, language), then offers optional sections for creators, location, rights, and source provenance. At the end of the session the generated record is displayed as formatted JSON. You can save it to a path you supplied via --output, or accept the suggested filename (TYPE_XXXXXXXX.json) in the current directory. Press Ctrl+C at any prompt to cancel without saving.

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Options

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--type
string
default:"None"
Pre-set the heritage type and skip the type-selection prompt. Must be one of the ten valid types. If the value you supply is not recognised, the wizard falls back to an interactive selection.Valid values: story, photo, document, audio, video, event, map, artwork, site, poem
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--output
path
default:"None"
File path where the finished record will be saved. When omitted, the wizard proposes a filename derived from the record type and the first eight characters of its UUID (e.g., poem_3f8a1c2b.json) and asks for confirmation before writing.

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Wizard walkthrough

1

Auto-generated ID

A UUID v4 is generated automatically. You do not need to supply one.
2

Title

Free-text title for the record. Required.
3

Type

Select or confirm the heritage type. Skipped when --type is valid.
4

Description

A summary of the artefact. Required.
5

Language

BCP 47 language code (en, sw, fr, rw, …). Defaults to en.
6

Creator(s)

Optionally add one or more creators with name, role, and affiliation.
7

Dates

date.created is set to today automatically. Optionally provide an event_date.
8

Tags

Comma-separated subject keywords stored as subject[].
9

Location

Optionally add a location name, area, and GPS coordinates.
10

Format

MIME type of the source file, e.g. image/jpeg or audio/mpeg.
11

Rights

License identifier (default CC-BY-4.0), access level, and rights holder.
12

Source

Optional provenance: contributor name, collection name, original format.

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Examples

dms init

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Notes

Use --type when scripting record creation workflows or batch ingestion to avoid interactive prompts blocking automation.
The wizard always writes date.created as today’s ISO date. To change it, open the saved file and edit the date.created field directly, or add an event_date for a historical event date.
If you run dms init without --output and decline the suggested filename, the record is printed to the terminal but not saved to disk.