CLI Template

Project Overview

CLI Template is a comprehensive starting point for developers looking to build professional command-line applications. Built with TypeScript and Commander.js, it provides a solid foundation with modern development tools and best practices baked in.

The template comes pre-configured with everything needed for CLI development, including interactive mode support, table output formatting with cli-table3, progress bars with cli-progress, and comprehensive testing setup with Vitest. The project structure is designed to be intuitive and scalable.

One of the standout features is the complete CI/CD setup with GitHub Actions for automated testing, code quality checks with CodeQL, and automated releases. The template also includes VitePress documentation, making it easy to create professional documentation for your CLI tools.

Key Features

Modern TypeScript stack with strict type checking

Commander.js for powerful CLI argument parsing

Interactive mode with menu-driven interface

Formatted table output with cli-table3

Progress bars and visual indicators

Comprehensive testing setup with Vitest

Code quality tools (ESLint, Prettier)

CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions

Automated testing and releases

VitePress documentation site

Multiple example commands (hello, table, progress)

Custom logger utility with colored output

Error handling with custom error classes

Package.json helper utilities

Ready for global npm installation

Technical Details

Technology Stack

TypeScript

Commander.js

Vitest

tsup

ESLint

Prettier

VitePress

cli-table3

cli-progress

inquirer

Architecture

CLI Template follows a modular architecture with clear separation of concerns. Commands are organized in the commands/ directory, utilities are isolated in utils/, and type definitions are centralized in types/. The build process uses tsup for fast, optimized bundling with support for both CommonJS and ES modules. The testing setup uses Vitest for unit testing with coverage reporting.

Challenges & Solutions

Challenge: Creating a flexible and extensible command structure
Solution: Implemented a modular command system using Commander.js subcommands, allowing easy addition of new commands without modifying the core structure
Challenge: Providing comprehensive examples for common CLI patterns
Solution: Built example commands for tables, progress bars, and interactive modes, demonstrating best practices for each pattern with multiple variations
Challenge: Setting up automated CI/CD for CLI tools
Solution: Configured GitHub Actions workflows for testing, code quality checks with CodeQL, and automated semantic versioning releases
Challenge: Making the template documentation-ready
Solution: Integrated VitePress for documentation with pre-configured guides, API references, and examples that can be easily customized