Rayfin CLI UX Guidelines

Standards for consistent, high-quality CLI experiences in @microsoft/rayfin-cli.

Full reference: references/cli-ux-guidelines.md — load on demand for depth, examples, and rationale.

Architecture Status

These rules define what a good CLI experience must deliver — they stay in force regardless of wiring. How output is wired is mid-migration to the workflow + adapter architecture (docs/rfc/rayfin-tools-architecture.md, tracked in rayfin-tools-architecture-migration.md).

New or migrated commands use a common/src/workflows/<name>/ workflow returning a typed Result<T>, with a thin Layer-1 Commander wrapper rendering via Logger/Progress adapters selected from --output <mode>. Do not import output-mode.ts, branch on raw --json/--verbose, or use CliHandledError/process.exit.
Legacy (un-migrated) commands use output-mode.ts (modeLog/emitJson/resolveOutputMode). This machinery is scheduled for removal in Phase 6.
When this skill and the architecture RFC disagree, the RFC wins.

Non-negotiable for every CLI command. Each rule has a stable ID (R1–R12) for cross-referencing.