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wtf is cli?

benfleis/cli — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2023-03-18

Audience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

TL;DR

babashka.cli turns any regular Clojure function into a command-line tool, auto-parsing flags, types, and subcommands for you.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((babashka.cli))
    What it does
      Parses CLI args
      Coerces types
      Builds subcommands
    Tech stack
      Clojure
      Babashka
    Use cases
      Build CLI tools
      Skip argv parsing
      Add help text
    Audience
      Clojure developers
      Babashka users

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Turn an existing Clojure function into a command-line tool without writing argument-parsing code

REASON 2

Build a CLI with subcommands like 'copy file.txt --dry-run' or 'delete file.txt --recursive'

REASON 3

Auto-generate formatted help text for a CLI tool using the library's spec format

What's in the stack?

ClojureBabashka

How it stacks up

benfleis/cli0verflowme/alarm-clock0verflowme/seclists
Language—CSS—
Last pushed2023-03-182022-10-032020-05-03
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultyeasyeasyeasy
Complexity2/52/51/5
Audiencedevelopervibe coderops devops

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

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to wrap this Clojure function so babashka.cli turns it into a CLI command
Prompt 2
Help me add subcommands like copy and delete to a CLI tool built with babashka.cli
Prompt 3
Explain how babashka.cli converts string arguments into numbers, keywords, and booleans
Prompt 4
Write a babashka.cli spec that generates help text for my command-line tool

Frequently asked questions

wtf is cli?

babashka.cli turns any regular Clojure function into a command-line tool, auto-parsing flags, types, and subcommands for you.

Is cli actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2023-03-18).

How hard is cli to set up?

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

Who is cli for?

Mainly developer.

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