cli-standards

name	cli-standards
description	Canonical CLI design standards. Use when designing, implementing, or reviewing command-line interfaces. Covers grammar, commands, flags, parameters, feedback, colours, tables, verbosity, and tone of voice.
license	default
compatibility	universal
allowed-tools	Read Grep Glob

Canonical CLI Standards

These standards define how Canonical CLI tools should look and behave. They originate from discussions with Canonical's senior tech leads and define best practice. All points must be strongly considered before contributing CLI code at Canonical.

Based on spec DE013. See also: DE027 (Tools & Templates for CLI Design), DE028 (Canonical CLI Help).

For full do/don't examples of every rule, see examples.md.

---

Grammar + Vocabulary

Commands are verbs

Every command that acts on a primary object must be a verb (for example: install, refresh, login). Choose verbs that imply the object type they act on.

Commands are logically grouped

Group commands that act on the same object type or domain (for example: build lifecycle vs. store management).

Verb-noun form

When verbs alone are insufficient to distinguish objects, use verb-noun form:

snap set-quota

Listing secondary objects

Use the plural noun as shorthand instead of list-foobar:

snap services        # not: snap list-services
snap list            # for listing primary objects (snaps)

Showing state

• Use status over show-status
• Use foobar-status over show-foobar-status
• Use foobar over show-foobar

Standard commands

Command	Purpose
tool init	Local initialisation
tool bootstrap	Distributed initialisation (cluster, VM, cloud)
tool list	Overview of all primary type instances
tool foobars	Overview of all secondary type instances
tool show <id>	Details for one primary instance
tool status	Current tool state
tool start/stop	Services, long-running processes
tool enable/disable	Primary type, feature
tool get/set/unset	Configuration
tool create-foo <id>	Create secondary object
tool delete-foo <id>	Delete secondary object
tool help	Show help
tool version	Show release version

Sublevels

At most one sublevel may be used. Alternatively, split into separate tools with associated names:

cmd cluster config --secret "$(cat secret.txt)"
# OR
cmd-cluster config --secret "$(cat secret.txt)"

---

Parameters, Flags and Options

Positional parameters

Only use when the meaning of each position is natural and easily memorisable:

cp sourcefile destfile      # clear directional meaning

Flags

• Short flags (-R): only for frequent actions easily implied from context
• Long flags (--recursive): more descriptive, for less frequent actions
• Do not offer both short and long for the same action
• Short flags must allow stacking: -yadf = -y -a -d -f
• Flags must not depend on ordering

Commonly used flags

All tools must support at minimum: --help

Flags with values

• Must support separation by whitespace: --verbosity debug
• May support separation by =: --rsh="ssh -p 2222"

Flags accepting multiple values

Two accepted patterns — do not provide both:

# Repeated (singular name):
tool do-foo --channel=edge --channel=beta

# Comma-separated (plural name):
tool do-foo --channels=edge,beta

Key=value arguments

tool do-foo --bar key=value
charmcraft release my-charm --channel=edge --resource foo=7 --resource bar=1

-- separator

Use -- to separate tool flags from a passed command line:

multipass exec docker -- snapcraft --help

---

Feedback

Errors, warnings, and success messages

• Errors: something went wrong, non-successful completion
• Warnings: non-ideal state, non-vital step failed, deprecation
• Success: command or step completed successfully

All messages must be human-readable, short, and succinct.

Colour usage

• Use colour for visual hierarchy only — never as the sole mechanism conveying information
• Only enable colour when the output stream supports it
• Disable colour when NO_COLOR is set or output is redirected
• Limit to ANSI colours; use bold for additional hierarchy
• Avoid green on white and blue on black for longer text

---

Tabular Data

Format

• Column delimiter: two spaces
• Headers: left-aligned, UPPER CASE, bold
• No ASCII line decorations
• Show headers by default; support --no-headers
• No spaces within cells (spaces delimit columns)
• Use short column names (for example: REV not REVISION)
• Optional NOTES column always last

Empty states

Show a clear message instead of empty headers:

$ snap list
No snaps installed.

Empty state message goes to stderr; exit code remains zero.

For machine-readable output, output the zero value:

$ foo list --format=json    # (empty)
$ foo list --format=yaml
items: []

---

Verbosity Levels

Mode	Flag	Detail
Quiet	--quiet	No output. Only errors for failed operations.
Brief	--brief (CLI default)	Critical info only. Progress and success/failure.
Verbose	--verbose (daemon default)	Descriptive detail about execution steps. Proper capitalisation and punctuation.
Debug	--verbosity=debug	Developer-level detail about internal execution.
Trace	--verbosity=trace	Code-level execution detail (debugger-equivalent).

Timestamps

Use ISO 8601: 2024-06-29T03:24:20Z

Ephemeral feedback

• Use line-overwriting only in interactive tty sessions, never when piped
• Use ephemeral feedback for intermediate steps where the final outcome is understood (for example: snap remove)
• Use non-ephemeral (new line) for steps with meaningful consequences (for example: machine allocation)

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CLI Copy and Tone of Voice

Principles

• Concise: stripped of excess, no clutter
• Precise: exact terminology, critical details
• Clear: unambiguous, immediately understandable

Terminology consistency

CLIs and UIs must use identical terminology. Define a single source of truth per product.

Rules

• Use passive, succinct sentences for missing arguments: Invalid URL: "htp://foo.bar"
• Use active, direct, friendly tone for helpful information — without being apologetic
• Use "cannot" instead of "didn't / couldn't / failed to / unable to"
• Do not use contractions (can't → cannot)

# GOOD
error: cannot establish the connection

# BAD
error: connection couldn't be established
Oops, something went wrong.