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wtf is cli?

abhishek-kumar09/cli — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-20 · repo last pushed 2020-05-29

Audience · developerComplexity · 3/5DormantLicenseSetup · moderate

TL;DR

The official command-line tool for Docker. Developers use this to interact with Docker's engine for packaging, running, and sharing applications via terminal commands.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Translates commands
      Manages containers
      Ships with Docker
    Tech stack
      Go language
      Makefile
      Docker
    Use cases
      Fix CLI bugs
      Add new commands
      Contribute to Docker
    Audience
      Docker contributors
      Open source maintainers

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Contribute bug fixes or new features to the Docker command-line tool.

REASON 2

Build custom Docker CLI binaries for different operating systems.

REASON 3

Explore how Docker terminal commands are structured and processed internally.

REASON 4

Set up a containerized development environment to test CLI changes.

What's in the stack?

GoMakefileDocker

How it stacks up

abhishek-kumar09/cli0verflowme/alarm-clock0verflowme/seclists
LanguageCSS
Last pushed2020-05-292022-10-032020-05-03
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultymoderateeasyeasy
Complexity3/52/51/5
Audiencedevelopervibe coderops devops

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Docker itself to be installed since the development environment and build process run inside containers.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, with patent protection, but note that Docker may be subject to government export restrictions.

Wtf does this do

This repository contains the command-line interface for Docker, the tool you type commands into when you use Docker to package, run, and share applications. If you've ever opened a terminal and typed something starting with "docker," you were interacting with the software that lives in this project. It's the bridge between you and Docker's underlying engine for creating and managing containers. At a high level, the CLI takes the commands you type and translates them into instructions that Docker's backend can act on. The README is fairly sparse on architectural detail, but it does explain that the project is developed using Docker itself. Contributors can spin up an interactive development environment to build binaries, run linting checks, and compile versions for different platforms, all from within a containerized setup. The included Makefile provides shortcuts for common tasks like building a Linux binary or creating builds for all supported operating systems. The people who would use this repository directly are developers contributing to Docker itself, the ones fixing bugs, adding features, or maintaining the command-line tool that ships with Docker CE and Docker EE. If you're simply using Docker to build and run containers, you don't need to clone this repo, the CLI comes bundled with your Docker installation. This project matters to someone who wants to understand how the Docker command works under the hood or who wants to contribute back to the open-source project. The project is licensed under Apache 2.0, and the legal section notes that Docker's use and transfer may be subject to government export restrictions, which is standard for software with broad international distribution. Beyond that, the README doesn't go into detail about the project's internal structure or design decisions, it's primarily a starting point for contributors who want to get set up quickly.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Help me set up the Docker CLI development environment using the Makefile and Docker itself as described in the repo.
Prompt 2
Show me how to build the Docker CLI binary for Linux using the Makefile shortcuts in this project.
Prompt 3
I want to contribute a new command to the Docker CLI. Walk me through how commands are structured and how to add one.
Prompt 4
Explain how to run linting checks and compile builds for all supported platforms using the interactive development container.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is cli?

The official command-line tool for Docker. Developers use this to interact with Docker's engine for packaging, running, and sharing applications via terminal commands.

Is cli actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2020-05-29).

What license does cli use?

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, with patent protection, but note that Docker may be subject to government export restrictions.

How hard is cli to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is cli for?

Mainly developer.

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