Official agent skill

CLI Design for Agents

by cursor in cursor/plugins

Design rules for command-line tools that coding agents can run reliably: flags over prompts, layered help with examples, fast errors, idempotency and dry-run.

OfficialNo licenceAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install CLI Design for Agents

skills CLI
$ npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill cli-for-agents -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install cursor/plugins cli-for-agents --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cursor/plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/cli-for-agent/skills/cli-for-agents .claude/skills/cli-for-agents && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
cli-for-agents
GitHub stars
10k
Token cost
~828 tokens
SKILL.md length
323 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
99
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
None found

At a glance

Design rules for command-line tools that coding agents can run reliably: flags over prompts, layered help with examples, fast errors, idempotency and dry-run.

  • Building a new CLI that agents or scripts will call
  • SKILL.md covers Non-interactive first, Discoverability without…, --help that works and stdin, flags, and pipelines, plus 6 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
  • Adding commands to an existing CLI and keeping them consistent

What it does

This skill covers how to build or review a command-line tool so an agent can use it without a person at the keyboard. It starts from the problem that tools made for humans often block agents with interactive prompts, large upfront documentation and help text without examples. The first rule is non-interactive first: every input can be given as a flag, and prompts appear only as a fallback when flags are missing.

The other rules: each subcommand owns its own `--help` with real example invocations, so agents discover commands step by step instead of loading a whole manual; stdin is accepted where it makes sense and commands chain in pipelines; missing required flags fail at once with a clear message and a correct example; running a successful command twice is safe; destructive actions get `--dry-run` plus `--yes` or `--force`; commands follow one resource-and-verb pattern; and successful runs print machine-useful values such as IDs, URLs and durations.

When your agent uses it

  • Building a new CLI that agents or scripts will call
  • Adding commands to an existing CLI and keeping them consistent
  • Writing --help text with copy-pasteable examples
  • Reviewing a CLI for prompts that would stall an automated run

Example prompts

  • “Review our deploy CLI and list everything that would stall a coding agent.”
  • “Rewrite the --help for the migrate subcommand with real examples.”
  • “Add a --dry-run flag and a --yes flag to the delete command.”
  • “Make the init command accept every answer as a flag instead of prompting.”

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9f451cf. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

CLI Design for Agents loads about 828 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 88 tokens; SKILL.md has 323 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~88
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~828

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 323 words (~828 tokens).

“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.”

— opening of SKILL.md by cursor
name
cli-for-agents

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

Just SKILL.md in cli-for-agent/skills/cli-for-agents of cursor/plugins.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9f451cf

Compare with similar skills

CLI Design for Agents next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

CLI Design for Agents compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
CLI Design for Agents this skillcursor/plugins10k—~828Automated safety check: PassNone
Code Qualitypiomin/claude-ai-spring-boot1.3k—~2.2kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Software Design Philosophyluoling8192/software-design-philosophy-skill344—~3.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Rust SkillsJMBeresford/retrom2.1k1 repos~9.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Rust Skillsnoh-rs/nohrs156—~5.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
API Error Design Patternsrevfactory/harness-1001.3k—~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0

Similar skills

  • Code Quality

    piomin/claude-ai-spring-boot

    Comprehensive code review for Java - clean code principles, API contracts, null safety, exception handling, and performance.

    1.3k GitHub stars~2.2k tokensUpdated 5 mo ago
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed
  • Software Design Philosophy

    luoling8192/software-design-philosophy-skill

    Software design philosophy guide based on John Ousterhout's "A Philosophy of Software Design." Use this skill during: code reviews, architecture discussions, API design, module decomposition…

    344 GitHub stars~3.4k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed
  • Rust Skills

    JMBeresford/retrom

    Comprehensive Rust coding guidelines with 265 rules across 26 categories.

    2.1k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~9.5k tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed
  • Rust Skills

    noh-rs/nohrs

    Comprehensive Rust coding guidelines with 179 rules across 14 categories.

    156 GitHub stars~5.3k tokensUpdated 5 days ago
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed
  • API Error Design Patterns

    revfactory/harness-100

    Reference for designing how an API reports failures: structured error codes, response shapes, client-friendly messages, an error catalog and retry or fallback advice.

    1.3k GitHub stars~1.6k tokensUpdated 6 mo ago
    Backend & APIsAuto-check passed
  • Error Handling

    ericrisco/rsc-harness

    A skill your agent uses when designing the reaction to a class of failures — typed error taxonomies, retry/backoff/timeout policy, circuit breakers, React/Next error boundaries, and the user-message…

    156 GitHub stars~3.2k tokensUpdated today
    Backend & APIsAuto-check passed

More from cursor/plugins

All 99 skills in this repo
  • Official

    Keeps a TSV decision log for long or unattended agent runs, one row per decision with what, why, evidence and result, so a reviewer can check the work later.

    10k GitHub starsUsed in 9 repos~1.6k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Official

    Digs into why code is shaped the way it is by checking git history, pull requests and connected tools in parallel, then reporting a cited read on the tradeoffs.

    10k GitHub starsUsed in 9 repos~2.6k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Official

    Starts three parallel reviewer subagents over the current conversation transcript, then turns their findings into concrete edits to existing skills.

    10k GitHub starsUsed in 5 repos~1.2k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Official

    Applies four layers of technical-writing rules to docs, RFCs, readmes, PR descriptions and commit messages so a tired engineer follows them on the first read.

    10k GitHub starsUsed in 10 repos~2.4k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Advisor Mode

    cursor/plugins

    Official

    Adds a second, stronger model that the main agent consults before major decisions, when stuck and before finishing, controlled by /advisor commands.

    10k GitHub stars~2.6k tokensUpdated today
    Auto-check: notes
  • Official

    Prepare PRs for review by cleaning noisy history, improving PR descriptions, and adding reviewer guidance without changing code behavior.

    10k GitHub starsUsed in 3 repos~569 tokens
    Auto-check passed

Categories

Questions about CLI Design for Agents

What does CLI Design for Agents do?

Design rules for command-line tools that coding agents can run reliably: flags over prompts, layered help with examples, fast errors, idempotency and dry-run. This skill covers how to build or review a command-line tool so an agent can use it without a person at the keyboard. It starts from the problem that tools made for humans often block agents with interactive prompts, large upfront documentation and help text without examples.

When should I use CLI Design for Agents?

CLI Design for Agents fits situations like: building a new CLI that agents or scripts will call; adding commands to an existing CLI and keeping them consistent; writing --help text with copy-pasteable examples; reviewing a CLI for prompts that would stall an automated run.

How do I install CLI Design for Agents in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill cli-for-agents -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (cli-for-agent/skills/cli-for-agents in cursor/plugins) into .claude/skills/cli-for-agents in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install CLI Design for Agents in Codex?

Run `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill cli-for-agents -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (cli-for-agent/skills/cli-for-agents in cursor/plugins) into .agents/skills/cli-for-agents in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use CLI Design for Agents in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill cli-for-agents -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/cli-for-agents, .gemini/skills/cli-for-agents, .github/skills/cli-for-agents and .opencode/skills/cli-for-agents in your project.

What does CLI Design for Agents need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: CLI Design for Agents is instructions for the agent only.

Does CLI Design for Agents access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is CLI Design for Agents safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does CLI Design for Agents use?

No licence was found for CLI Design for Agents or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.

How many tokens does CLI Design for Agents use?

About 828 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.3k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to CLI Design for Agents?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with CLI Design for Agents: Code Quality (piomin/claude-ai-spring-boot, 1.3k stars), Software Design Philosophy (luoling8192/software-design-philosophy-skill, 344 stars), Rust Skills (JMBeresford/retrom, 2.1k stars) and Rust Skills (noh-rs/nohrs, 156 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains CLI Design for Agents?

cursor (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in cursor/plugins, which has 10,130 GitHub stars. The repository holds 99 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: cursor/plugins on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.