designing-clislisted

# Designing CLIs ## Overview Modern CLIs are conversations between human and machine. Great CLIs feel discoverable, responsive, and forgiving. Poor CLIs leave users guessing, waiting, and frustrated. **Core principle:** Every CLI interaction should answer: "What happened? What can I do? What's next?" ## When to Use **Building:** - Creating new CLI commands or tools - Designing output format, error messages, progress indicators - Planning CLI architecture (flags, subcommands, interaction model) **Improving:** - Enhancing existing CLI user experience - Adding features to existing commands - Making CLI "less confusing" or "easier to use" **Reviewing:** - Auditing CLI code for UX issues - Responding to user complaints about difficulty - Troubleshooting discoverability problems ## Quick Decision Framework | Working On | Read This | |------------|-----------| | New CLI under time pressure | practical-patterns.md (Priority Checklist) | | Adding to existing CLI | practical-patterns.md (Working with Existing CLIs) | | Fixing "confusing" CLI | practical-patterns.md (CLI UX Audit Checklist) | | Command structure, flags | ux-principles.md (Familiarity, Discoverability) | | Output formatting | visual-techniques.md (Layout, Spacing, Color) | | Error messages, help text | practical-patterns.md (Error Message Patterns) | | Overall architecture | ux-principles.md (complete overview) | ## The Six UX Principles 1. **Familiarity** - Use known conventions (--help, --version, verb-noun)