From example-skills
Designs command-line interfaces with argument parsing, subcommands, help text, output formatting, exit codes, and shell completion using Typer, Click, argparse in Python, plus clap (Rust) and cobra (Go). For CLI tool development and terminal UX.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/example-skills:cli-tool-designThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Build command-line tools that are discoverable, composable, and pleasant to use.
Build command-line tools that are discoverable, composable, and pleasant to use.
program [global-options] command [command-options] [arguments]
Example:
organvm --verbose registry update --organ IV a-i--skills
| Framework | Language | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Typer | Python | Modern CLIs with type hints, auto-completion |
| Click | Python | Complex CLIs, plugins, nested groups |
| argparse | Python | Zero-dependency, stdlib-only |
| clap | Rust | High-performance, compiled CLIs |
| cobra | Go | Go microservice CLIs |
import typer
app = typer.Typer(help="ORGANVM system management CLI")
@app.command()
def status(
organ: str = typer.Argument(help="Organ number (I-VII or META)"),
verbose: bool = typer.Option(False, "--verbose", "-v", help="Show detailed output"),
):
"""Show the status of an organ's repositories."""
# Implementation here
app = typer.Typer()
registry_app = typer.Typer(help="Registry operations")
app.add_typer(registry_app, name="registry")
@registry_app.command("update")
def registry_update(
organ: str = typer.Argument(help="Target organ"),
dry_run: bool = typer.Option(False, "--dry-run", "-n"),
):
"""Update registry entries for an organ."""
from rich.console import Console
from rich.table import Table
console = Console(stderr=True) # Status to stderr
def show_repos(repos: list[dict]):
table = Table(title="Repositories")
table.add_column("Name", style="cyan")
table.add_column("Status", style="green")
table.add_column("Tier")
for repo in repos:
table.add_row(repo["name"], repo["status"], repo["tier"])
console.print(table)
| Use Case | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Required input | Positional | program FILE |
| Behavior modifier | Flag | --verbose, --dry-run |
| Configuration | Option | --output FORMAT |
| Multiple inputs | Variadic | program FILE... |
-v, --verbose Increase output verbosity
-q, --quiet Suppress non-error output
-n, --dry-run Show what would happen without doing it
-f, --force Skip confirmation prompts
-o, --output FILE Write output to FILE instead of stdout
--json Machine-readable JSON output
--no-color Disable colored output
@app.command()
def deploy(
color: bool = typer.Option(True, "--color/--no-color"),
interactive: bool = typer.Option(True, "--interactive/--no-interactive"),
):
import json
import sys
def output_results(results: list[dict], json_mode: bool = False):
if json_mode:
# Machine output to stdout
json.dump(results, sys.stdout, indent=2)
else:
# Human output with formatting
for r in results:
console.print(f"[cyan]{r['name']}[/] — {r['status']}")
from rich.progress import track
for item in track(items, description="Processing..."):
process(item)
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success |
| 1 | General error |
| 2 | Usage error (bad arguments) |
| 64-78 | BSD sysexits conventions |
| 130 | Interrupted (Ctrl+C) |
import sys
def main():
try:
result = run_command()
if not result.success:
console.print(f"[red]Error:[/] {result.error}", file=sys.stderr)
raise SystemExit(1)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
raise SystemExit(130)
Priority order (highest to lowest):
.tool.yaml)~/.config/tool/config.yaml)def get_config(cli_value: str | None = None) -> str:
return (
cli_value
or os.environ.get("TOOL_CONFIG")
or load_project_config()
or load_user_config()
or DEFAULT_VALUE
)
# Generate completion script
my-cli --install-completion
# Or manually
_MY_CLI_COMPLETE=bash_source my-cli > ~/.my-cli-complete.bash
source ~/.my-cli-complete.bash
def complete_organ(incomplete: str) -> list[str]:
organs = ["I", "II", "III", "IV", "V", "VI", "VII", "META"]
return [o for o in organs if o.startswith(incomplete.upper())]
@app.command()
def status(organ: str = typer.Argument(autocompletion=complete_organ)):
...
from typer.testing import CliRunner
runner = CliRunner()
def test_status_command():
result = runner.invoke(app, ["status", "IV"])
assert result.exit_code == 0
assert "a-i--skills" in result.stdout
def test_invalid_organ():
result = runner.invoke(app, ["status", "INVALID"])
assert result.exit_code == 2
--yes / --no-interactive flagsnpx claudepluginhub a-organvm/a-i--skills --plugin document-skillsProvides a checklist for code reviews covering functionality, security, performance, maintainability, tests, and quality. Use for pull requests, audits, team standards, and developer training.