clibuilder

clibuilder builds command line applications from commands. Each command declares its own arguments and options with the t type descriptors, and its config with any Standard Schema. The types of what run() receives are inferred from those declarations — no separate type definition to keep in sync.

import { cli, t } from 'clibuilder'

cli({ name: 'greet', version: '1.0.0' })
  .default({
    arguments: [{ name: 'name', description: 'who to greet' }],
    options: { times: { description: 'how many times', type: t.int(), default: 1 } },
    run(args) {
      // args.name is string, args.times is number
      for (let i = 0; i < args.times; i++) this.ui.info(`hello, ${args.name}`)
    }
  })
  .parse(process.argv)
  .catch(e => process.exit(e?.code || 1))

What you get

Commands & sub-commandsNest commands to any depth — my-cli repo create — with aliases and a generated help message.

Typed arguments & optionsDeclare with `t`; run(args) is typed from the declaration, and input is validated before it runs.

Built on args-minusclibuilder parses with args-minus, a dependency-free parser you can also use on its own in Node.js, Deno and Bun.

Config filesJSON, YAML, cjs, or mjs — resolved by convention from the CLI name and validated per command.

PluginsShip commands as separate packages and let a config file load them into your CLI.

TestingtestCommand() runs a command in-process and hands back its result and its UI messages.

ESM, and require() tooESM-only. require() still works through require(esm) on Node 20.19 or later.

Install

npm install clibuilder

See Installation for other package managers, then walk through Your First CLI.