Good CLI Design Is Mostly Silence
A CLI is both a user interface and an API for scripts. Quiet mode, stdout, stderr, colors, and exit codes need real contracts.
CLI
Building CLI tools that earn trust. Terminal UX, output contracts, flags, exit codes, and the details that separate a script from a tool people rely on.
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The Details That Make CLI Tools Feel Professional
Four real examples from recent Go CLI projects — bracketed paste handling, a scripting DSL, safe symlink restoration, and diff truncation — that show how small decisions separate a script from a tool people trust.
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The Gold Standard: CLI Design Principles for Production Systems
Defining the ‘Gold Standard’ for production-ready CLIs: TTY-aware behavior, clean stdout vs stderr contracts, JSON output for automation, and idempotent mutations.