# CLI For Agents

Designs or reviews CLIs so coding agents can run them reliably: non-interactive flags...

- Repository: https://github.com/cursor/plugins (15000 stars)
- Category: Design
- License: see repository
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill cli-for-agents -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill cli-for-agents -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill cli-for-agents -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill cli-for-agents -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add cursor/plugins`

## Description

Designs or reviews CLIs so coding agents can run them reliably: non-interactive flags, layered --help with examples, stdin/pipelines, fast actionable errors, idempotency, dry-run, and predictable structure. Use when building a CLI, adding commands, writing --help, or when the user mentions agents, terminals, or automation-friendly CLIs.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# CLI for agents

Human-oriented CLIs often block agents: interactive prompts, huge upfront docs, and help text without copy-pasteable examples. Prefer patterns that work headlessly and compose in pipelines.

## Non-interactive first

- Every input should be expressible as a flag or flag value. Do not require arrow keys, menus, or timed prompts.
- If flags are missing, **then** fall back to interactive mode, not the other way around.

**Bad:** `mycli deploy` → `? Which environment? (use arrow keys)`  
**Good:** `mycli deploy --env staging`

## Discoverability without dumping context

- Agents discover subcommands incrementally: `mycli`, then `mycli deploy --help`. Do not print the entire manual on every run.
- Let each subcommand own its documentation so unused commands stay out of context.

## `--help` that works

- Every subcommand has `--help`.
- Every `--help` includes **Examples** with real invocations. Examples do more than prose for pattern-matching.

```text
Options:
  --env     Target environment (staging, production)
  --tag     Image tag (default: latest)
  --force   Skip confirmation

Examples:
  mycli deploy --env staging
  mycli deploy --env production --tag v1.2.3
  mycli deploy --env staging --force
```

## stdin, flags, and pipelines

- Accept stdin where it makes sense (e.g. `cat config.json | mycli config import --stdin`).
- Avoid odd positional ordering and avoid falling back to interactive prompts for missing values.
- Support chaining: `mycli deploy --env staging --tag $(mycli build --output tag-only)`.

## Fail fast with actionable errors

- On missing required flags: exit immediately with a clear message and a **correct example invocation**, not a hang.

```text
Error: No image tag specified.
  mycli deploy --env staging --tag <image-tag>
  Available tags: mycli build list --output tags
```

## Idempotency

The rest: https://github.com/cursor/plugins/blob/HEAD/cli-for-agent/skills/cli-for-agents/SKILL.md