Cliwright

cliwright — a wright of CLIs

This skill turns any HTTP API into a polished, distributable CLI built to a single high standard, fully specified in [GOAL.md](GOAL.md) (the canonical playbook). The playbook is self-contained: it does not depend on reading any other repository.

How to run it

1. Read the playbook. Load GOAL.md (in this skill's directory — it ships next to this

SKILL.md, so the same path resolves under both a plugin and a skill-only install). It is the complete brief — architecture, the non-negotiable standard, the meta-command set, the MCP/agent surface, distribution, CI/CD, packaging, reference skeletons, the determinism rules, and the acceptance gate.

1. Fill the TARGET API block at the top of the playbook. Everything about the API

itself (auth, base URL, pagination, rate-limit headers, resources, fields, special ops, JSON quirks) is research, not a question — fetch the docs/OpenAPI and determine it. Only ask the user what the web cannot know (their instance/host, scope preferences, distribution identity), batched into ≤4 questions; skip questions already answered.

1. Execute the phases in order (Scaffold → Client core → Cross-cutting UX → Meta

commands → Resource loop → Agent surface → Beyond-the-API → Tests & gates → Docs → Distribution → Packaging), committing per phase.

1. Gate on make accept. The build is done only when the acceptance gate passes:

make verify (the deterministic gate — make check + coverage + spec-check (CLI surface ⊆ the manifest) + spec-completeness (manifest covers ≥ ~90% of the enumerated API, so a memory-authored manifest can't wrap a fraction of it unnoticed) + the atomic Definition-of-Done checklist) plus the LLM judge rubric for the few subjective items. make accept = verify + judge; the judge spends tokens and needs an agent, so CI and routine runs use the cheaper make verify. See the "Acceptance gate", "Determinism rules", and §0 method-enumeration sections in GOAL.md.

Driving it to completion (the loop)

This skill carries the spec and the gate; it relies on the runtime's native /goal loop as the engine. Run the build under /goal (Claude Code and Codex both ship it), and bind the loop's completion promise to the gate:

> The completion promise may be emitted only when make accept exits 0. > Never emit a false promise to escape the loop — if the gate fails, keep iterating.

If /goal is unavailable, fall back to the bundled scripts/ralph.sh (a portable while ! make accept; do continue; done loop).

What it produces

A tagged, installable CLI: Homebrew/Scoop + deb/rpm/apk, signed releases (cosign + SBOM), generated command-reference docs, an mcp server + agent guard, and — if requested — its own Claude Code plugin + cross-tool agent skill.

See references/ for deep dives extracted from the playbook, and templates/ for the copy-in skeletons (generic core, Makefile with the verify target, GoReleaser, CI).

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: jjuanrivvera
• Source: jjuanrivvera/cliwright
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.