Click Scaffolder

Generate a complete Click CLI application with Python, proper project structure, and best practices.

Capabilities

• Generate Python-based Click CLI projects
• Create command groups with decorators
• Set up context passing between commands
• Configure type coercion and validation
• Implement custom parameter types
• Set up Poetry/pip project structure

Usage

Invoke this skill when you need to:

• Bootstrap a new CLI application using Click
• Create a Python CLI with decorator-based commands
• Set up command groups and context
• Configure rich terminal output

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
projectName	string	Yes	Name of the CLI project (kebab-case)
description	string	Yes	Short description of the CLI
commands	array	No	List of commands to scaffold
usePoetry	boolean	No	Use Poetry for dependency management (default: true)
pythonVersion	string	No	Python version requirement (default: ">=3.9")

Command Structure

{
  "commands": [
    {
      "name": "init",
      "description": "Initialize a new project",
      "options": [
        { "name": "template", "type": "string", "help": "Template to use" },
        { "name": "force", "is_flag": true, "help": "Overwrite existing" }
      ],
      "arguments": [
        { "name": "directory", "required": true }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "groups": [
    {
      "name": "config",
      "description": "Configuration management",
      "commands": ["get", "set", "list"]
    }
  ]
}

Output Structure

<projectName>/
├── pyproject.toml
├── README.md
├── .gitignore
├── src/
│   └── <package_name>/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── __main__.py        # Entry point
│       ├── cli.py             # Main Click setup
│       ├── commands/
│       │   ├── __init__.py
│       │   └── <command>.py   # Individual commands
│       ├── utils/
│       │   ├── __init__.py
│       │   ├── config.py      # Configuration
│       │   └── console.py     # Rich console output
│       └── types/
│           ├── __init__.py
│           └── custom.py      # Custom parameter types
└── tests/
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── conftest.py
    └── test_<command>.py

Generated Code Patterns

Main CLI Entry (src/<package>/cli.py)

import click
from rich.console import Console

from .commands import init, config

console = Console()

@click.group()
@click.version_option()
@click.option('--verbose', '-v', is_flag=True, help='Enable verbose output')
@click.pass_context
def cli(ctx: click.Context, verbose: bool) -> None:
    """<description>"""
    ctx.ensure_object(dict)
    ctx.obj['verbose'] = verbose
    ctx.obj['console'] = console

cli.add_command(init.init)
cli.add_command(config.config)

def main() -> None:
    cli(obj={})

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Command Template

import click
from rich.console import Console

@click.command()
@click.argument('directory', type=click.Path())
@click.option(
    '--template', '-t',
    type=click.Choice(['basic', 'advanced']),
    default='basic',
    help='Template to use'
)
@click.option('--force', '-f', is_flag=True, help='Overwrite existing files')
@click.pass_context
def init(ctx: click.Context, directory: str, template: str, force: bool) -> None:
    """Initialize a new project in DIRECTORY."""
    console: Console = ctx.obj['console']
    verbose: bool = ctx.obj['verbose']

    if verbose:
        console.print(f"[dim]Using template: {template}[/dim]")

    console.print(f"[green]Initializing project in {directory}[/green]")

Command Group Template

import click

@click.group()
def config() -> None:
    """Configuration management commands."""
    pass

@config.command()
@click.argument('key')
@click.pass_context
def get(ctx: click.Context, key: str) -> None:
    """Get a configuration value."""
    console = ctx.obj['console']
    console.print(f"Getting {key}")

@config.command()
@click.argument('key')
@click.argument('value')
def set(key: str, value: str) -> None:
    """Set a configuration value."""
    click.echo(f"Setting {key} = {value}")

Dependencies

[tool.poetry.dependencies]
python = ">=3.9"
click = "^8.1.0"
rich = "^13.0.0"

[tool.poetry.group.dev.dependencies]
pytest = "^8.0.0"
pytest-cov = "^4.0.0"
mypy = "^1.0.0"
ruff = "^0.1.0"

Workflow

1. Validate inputs - Check project name, commands structure
2. Create directory structure - Set up folders and base files
3. Generate pyproject.toml - Configure project metadata
4. Create CLI entry point - Click group setup
5. Generate commands - Individual command files
6. Create utilities - Console, config helpers
7. Set up tests - pytest fixtures and command tests
8. Initialize git - Optional git initialization

Best Practices Applied

• Type hints throughout
• Click context for shared state
• Rich library for terminal output
• Command groups for organization
• Custom parameter types
• Proper error handling

References

• Click Documentation: https://click.palletsprojects.com/
• Click GitHub: https://github.com/pallets/click
• Rich Library: https://rich.readthedocs.io/

Target Processes

• cli-application-bootstrap
• cli-command-structure-design
• argument-parser-setup