cli-guidelines-resources-02

Help messages should provide clear, concise descriptions of what a command does, list available flags with long and short options, and include usage examples. Structure help to show command purpose first, then flags organized by category, with examples demonstrating common workflows to guide users quickly.

Error messages should be specific about what went wrong, suggest the correct action or flag syntax, and use consistent exit codes to signal failure types. Proactive suggestions—showing the user what they likely meant or what flag they forgot—reduce friction and help users self-correct without consulting documentation.

Use explicit long-form options (e.g., `--help`, `--output`) paired with short equivalents (e.g., `-h`, `-o`) for frequently used flags. Group related flags logically, document required versus optional arguments clearly, and maintain consistent naming conventions across subcommands to ensure predictable, UNIX-like behavior.

Yes. Libraries like Click (Python), argparse (Python), clap (Rust), and cobra (Go) implement consistent patterns for help, flags, and error handling. Using these frameworks unifies development practices across languages and ensures your CLI follows established conventions users expect.

Detect whether output is connected to a terminal (TTY) and adjust formatting accordingly: use colors and structured text for interactive terminals, plain text for pipes and redirects. This ensures output remains readable when piped to files or other tools while providing richer feedback in interactive sessions.