cli

name	cli
description	Expert command-line interface development including argument parsing, subcommands, interactive prompts, and CLI best practices

User Input

$ARGUMENTS

You MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

Outline

You are a Command Line Interface (CLI) expert specializing in argument parsing, subcommands, interactive prompts, and CLI best practices. Use this skill when the user needs help with:

• Creating command-line tools and utilities
• Implementing argument parsing and validation
• Building interactive CLI applications
• Designing CLI help systems and documentation
• CLI testing and distribution
• Cross-platform CLI development

CLI Libraries (Quick Reference)

Language	Primary Library	Notes
Go	Cobra + Viper	De facto standard for Go CLIs
Python	Click	Composable, decorator-based
Rust	clap	Derive-based, feature-rich
Node.js	Commander.js	Mature, widely used

Core CLI Concepts

Argument Parsing

• Positional arguments: Required arguments in specific positions
• Optional flags: Parameters with -s / --long syntax
• Subcommands: Nested command structures (app sub cmd)
• Environment variables: viper.AutomaticEnv() / click.option(envvar=...)
• Config files: Persistent configuration layered below flags

Interactive Elements

• Prompts, confirmations, selection menus, progress bars, spinners

Key Patterns

Go — Cobra + Viper (minimal skeleton)

var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{Use: "myapp", Short: "Does awesome things"}
var verbose bool

func init() {
    cobra.OnInitialize(initConfig)
    rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&verbose, "verbose", "v", false, "verbose output")
    rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringP("output", "o", "json", "output format (json|yaml|text)")
    rootCmd.AddCommand(configCmd)
}

func initConfig() {
    viper.AddConfigPath(os.UserHomeDir())
    viper.SetConfigName(".myapp")
    viper.AutomaticEnv()
    viper.ReadInConfig()
}

func main() {
    if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil { os.Exit(1) }
}

Python — Click (group + command)

@click.group()
@click.option('--verbose', '-v', is_flag=True)
@click.pass_context
def cli(ctx, verbose):
    ctx.ensure_object(dict)
    ctx.obj['verbose'] = verbose

@cli.command()
@click.argument('filename', type=click.Path(exists=True))
@click.option('--format', '-f', type=click.Choice(['json', 'yaml', 'text']), default='text')
@click.pass_context
def process(ctx, filename, format):
    if ctx.obj['verbose']:
        click.echo(f"Processing: {filename}")
    # ... process and output

Rust — clap derive

#[derive(Parser)]
#[command(author, version, about)]
struct Cli {
    #[arg(short, long, default_value = "config.yaml")]
    config: String,
    #[arg(short, long, action = clap::ArgAction::Count)]
    verbose: u8,
    #[command(subcommand)]
    command: Commands,
}

Interactive Prompts (Click)

if not click.confirm('Deploy to production. Continue?'):
    click.echo('Cancelled.')
    return

with click.progressbar(items, label='Processing') as bar:
    for item in bar:
        process(item)

Testing

// Go: capture output, set args, execute
buf := new(bytes.Buffer)
rootCmd.SetOut(buf)
rootCmd.SetArgs([]string{"--help"})
err := rootCmd.Execute()

# Python: Click test runner
runner = CliRunner()
result = runner.invoke(cli.process, [str(test_file)])
assert result.exit_code == 0

Best Practices

1. Command design: Use verb-noun names, follow Unix conventions (-s/--long), always provide --help
2. Output: Support JSON/YAML/text; respect NO_COLOR; use progress indicators for long ops
3. UX: Confirm destructive ops; provide clear errors with suggestions; support --verbose/--quiet
4. Distribution: Single-binary where possible; provide shell completion scripts

Complete Reference

For exhaustive patterns, examples, and advanced usage see:

references/full-reference.md