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CLI Developer

Guides the agent to build command-line tools with proper flags, help text, completions and terminal UX

Source Download skill
Repository
Jeffallan/claude-skills
Stars
12,176
Licence
MIT
Files
6 files

What it does

When installed, the agent follows a set of conventions for building command-line programs: designing subcommands and flags, parsing arguments, adding prompts, progress bars and spinners, and generating bash, zsh or fish completion scripts. It works with Node.js (commander), Python (click, typer, argparse) and Go (cobra, viper, bubbletea) and includes checklists such as keeping startup under 50ms, sending errors to stderr, and disabling colour when output is not a terminal.

Great for

  • Developers building a new command-line tool in Node.js, Python or Go
  • Teams that want consistent flag naming, help text and shell completions across a CLI
  • Anyone adding interactive prompts or progress output to an existing terminal program

Skip it if

  • Non-developers looking for a general-purpose assistant; it only adds value when you are writing a CLI program
  • Projects in languages other than Node.js, Python or Go, where the reference guidance does not apply and the agent would rely on general knowledge
  • Teams expecting automatic verification: the skill recommends testing on Windows, macOS and Linux but does not run those tests itself

Try asking

  • “Build a Python click tool that backs up a folder, with --dry-run and --verbose flags”
  • “Add bash, zsh and fish completion scripts to my existing commander-based Node.js CLI”
  • “Create a Go cobra command with subcommands for listing and deleting items, with proper --help and --version output”
  • “Add a spinner and progress bar to my typer script without breaking piped output”
Step-by-step guide: how to use CLI DeveloperInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 6 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    cli-developer.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip cli-developer.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip cli-developer.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Name the language and framework up front (for example 'Go with cobra') so the agent loads the matching reference file
  • Ask for the non-interactive and CI behaviour explicitly, since the skill's rules expect flag or env-var fallbacks
  • Review generated shell completion scripts and any code the agent runs with --help or --version before trusting the output

What's inside

  • references/design-patterns.md
  • references/go-cli.md
  • references/node-cli.md
  • references/python-cli.md
  • references/ux-patterns.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from Jeffallan/claude-skills under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.