cli-developer
Use when building CLI tools, implementing argument parsing, or adding interactive prompts. Invoke for parsing flags and subcommands, displaying progress bars and spinners, generating bash/zsh/fish completion scripts, CLI design, shell completions, and cross-platform terminal applications using commander, click, typer, or cobra.
npx skills add Jeffallan/claude-skills --skill cli-developer --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# CLI Developer ## Core Workflow 1. **Analyze UX** — Identify user workflows, command hierarchy, common tasks. Validate by listing all commands and their expected `--help` output before writing code. 2. **Design commands** — Plan subcommands, flags, arguments, configuration. Confirm flag naming is consistent and no existing signatures are broken. 3. **Implement** — Build with the appropriate CLI framework for the language (see Reference Guide below). After wiring up commands, run `<cli> --help` to verify help text renders correctly and `<cli> --version` to confirm version output. 4. **Polish** — Add completions, help text, error messages, progress indicators. Verify TTY detection for color output and graceful SIGINT handling. 5. **Test** — Run cross-platform smoke tests; benchmark startup time (target: <50ms). ## Reference Guide Load detailed guidance based on context: | Topic | Reference | Load When | |-------|-----------|-----------| | Design Patterns | `references/design-patterns.md` | Subcommands, flags, config, architecture | | Node.js CLIs | `references/node-cli.md` | commander, yargs, inquirer, chalk | | Python CLIs | `references/python-cli.md` | click, typer, argparse, rich
- Core Workflow
- Reference Guide
- Quick-Start Example
- Node.js (commander)
- Constraints
- MUST DO
- MUST NOT DO
- Output Templates
- Knowledge Reference
What does the cli-developer skill do?
Use when building CLI tools, implementing argument parsing, or adding interactive prompts. Invoke for parsing flags and subcommands, displaying progress bars and spinners, generating bash/zsh/fish completion scripts, CLI design, shell completions, and cross-platform terminal applications using commander, click, typer, or cobra.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add Jeffallan/claude-skills --skill cli-developer --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From Jeffallan/claude-skills, a repository with 10,871 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.