CLI Patterns Skill

Lightweight Go CLI patterns using urfave/cli for fast, simple command-line applications.

Overview

Provides battle-tested patterns for building production-ready CLI tools in Go using urfave/cli v2. Focus on simplicity, speed, and maintainability over complex frameworks like Cobra.

Why urfave/cli?

• Lightweight: Minimal dependencies, small binary size
• Fast: Quick compilation, fast execution
• Simple API: Easy to learn, less boilerplate than Cobra
• Production-ready: Used by Docker, Nomad, and many other tools
• Native Go: Feels like standard library code

Core Patterns

1. Basic CLI Structure