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The commander package provides a powerful manager for building Cobra-based CLI applications with enhanced features like custom help formatting, reference documentation, shell completion, and command hooks.

​
Installation

go get github.com/raystack/salt/cli/commander

​
Core Types

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Manager

Manages and configures features for a CLI tool. 
type Manager struct {
    RootCmd    *cobra.Command
    Help       bool           // Enable custom help
    Reference  bool           // Enable reference command
    Completion bool           // Enable shell completion
    Config     bool           // Enable configuration management
    Docs       bool           // Enable markdown documentation
    Hooks      []HookBehavior // Hook behaviors to apply
    Topics     []HelpTopic    // Help topics with details
}

​
HelpTopic

Defines a help topic with its details. 
type HelpTopic struct {
    Name    string
    Short   string
    Long    string
    Example string
}

​
HookBehavior

Defines a behavior applied to commands. 
type HookBehavior struct {
    Name     string                   // Name of the hook
    Behavior func(cmd *cobra.Command) // Function to apply
}

​
Quick Start

​
Basic Setup

Create a CLI manager with default features: 
package main

import (
    "github.com/raystack/salt/cli/commander"
    "github.com/spf13/cobra"
)

func main() {
    rootCmd := &cobra.Command{
        Use:   "mycli",
        Short: "My awesome CLI tool",
    }

    // Create manager with defaults
    manager := commander.New(rootCmd)
    
    // Initialize features
    manager.Init()
    
    // Execute CLI
    if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
        // Handle error
    }
}

​
Custom Configuration

Configure specific features: 
manager := commander.New(
    rootCmd,
    commander.WithTopics([]commander.HelpTopic{
        {
            Name:    "environment",
            Short:   "Learn about environment variables",
            Long:    "Detailed info about environment configuration...",
            Example: "API_KEY=xxx mycli command",
        },
    }),
    commander.WithHooks([]commander.HookBehavior{
        {
            Name: "auth",
            Behavior: func(cmd *cobra.Command) {
                // Add authentication logic before command runs
                cmd.PreRunE = func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
                    return authenticate()
                }
            },
        },
    }),
)

// Disable certain features
manager.Reference = false
manager.Docs = true

manager.Init()

​
Features

​
Custom Help

Provides organized help output with command grouping: 
manager := commander.New(rootCmd)
manager.Help = true // Enabled by default
manager.Init()
Commands can be organized into groups using annotations: 
cmd := &cobra.Command{
    Use:   "deploy",
    Short: "Deploy your application",
    Annotations: map[string]string{
        "group": "core",
    },
}

rootCmd.AddCommand(cmd)
Supported annotation keys:
  • group: “core”, “help”, or custom group name
  • help:arguments: Additional arguments documentation
  • help:environment: Environment variables documentation
  • help:learn: Learning resources
  • help:feedback: Feedback information

​
Reference Command

Automatically generates comprehensive markdown reference: 
manager.Reference = true
manager.Init()
Users can view the reference: 
mycli reference           # View in terminal with colors
mycli reference --plain   # View as plain markdown

​
Shell Completion

Generate completion scripts for various shells: 
manager.Completion = true
manager.Init()
Users can generate completion scripts: 
mycli completion bash
mycli completion zsh
mycli completion fish
mycli completion powershell

​
Help Topics

Add dedicated help topics for complex subjects: 
topics := []commander.HelpTopic{
    {
        Name:  "config",
        Short: "Learn about configuration",
        Long: `Configuration can be managed through:
  - Config files: ~/.mycli/config.yaml
  - Environment variables: MYCLI_*
  - Command flags: --config`,
        Example: `# View current config
  mycli config view
  
  # Set a value
  mycli config set key value`,
    },
}

manager := commander.New(
    rootCmd,
    commander.WithTopics(topics),
)
manager.Init()

​
Command Hooks

Apply behaviors to commands with client:true annotation: 
hooks := []commander.HookBehavior{
    {
        Name: "setup",
        Behavior: func(cmd *cobra.Command) {
            // Add setup logic
            original := cmd.PreRunE
            cmd.PreRunE = func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
                if err := setupClient(); err != nil {
                    return err
                }
                if original != nil {
                    return original(cmd, args)
                }
                return nil
            }
        },
    },
}

manager := commander.New(
    rootCmd,
    commander.WithHooks(hooks),
)

// Commands with this annotation will have hooks applied
cmd := &cobra.Command{
    Use: "api-call",
    Annotations: map[string]string{
        "client": "true",
    },
}

​
Markdown Documentation

Generate markdown files for all commands: 
manager.Docs = true
manager.Init()
This generates markdown documentation in the ./docs directory.

​
Error Handling

​
Command Error Detection

Distinguish between user errors and program errors: 
if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
    if commander.IsCommandErr(err) {
        // User made a mistake (wrong command/flag)
        // No need to log, Cobra already displayed the error
        os.Exit(1)
    } else {
        // Program error - log and report
        log.Error(err)
        os.Exit(1)
    }
}
IsCommandErr detects errors like:
  • Unknown command
  • Unknown flag
  • Unknown shorthand flag

​
Complete Example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "os"

    "github.com/raystack/salt/cli/commander"
    "github.com/spf13/cobra"
)

func main() {
    // Create root command
    rootCmd := &cobra.Command{
        Use:   "mycli",
        Short: "A modern CLI application",
        Long:  `A CLI tool with rich features including help topics and hooks.`,
    }

    // Add commands
    deployCmd := &cobra.Command{
        Use:   "deploy",
        Short: "Deploy your application",
        Annotations: map[string]string{
            "group":  "core",
            "client": "true",
        },
        RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
            return deploy()
        },
    }
    rootCmd.AddCommand(deployCmd)

    // Create manager with features
    manager := commander.New(
        rootCmd,
        commander.WithTopics([]commander.HelpTopic{
            {
                Name:    "environment",
                Short:   "Environment variables reference",
                Long:    "Available environment variables:\n  API_KEY - Your API key\n  DEBUG - Enable debug mode",
                Example: "API_KEY=xxx DEBUG=true mycli deploy",
            },
        }),
        commander.WithHooks([]commander.HookBehavior{
            {
                Name: "client-setup",
                Behavior: func(cmd *cobra.Command) {
                    cmd.PreRunE = func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
                        fmt.Println("Setting up client...")
                        return nil
                    }
                },
            },
        }),
    )

    // Initialize all features
    manager.Init()

    // Execute
    if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
        if commander.IsCommandErr(err) {
            os.Exit(1)
        }
        fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
        os.Exit(1)
    }
}

func deploy() error {
    fmt.Println("Deploying application...")
    return nil
}

​
Best Practices

  1. Use command groups - Organize commands with the group annotation for better help output
  2. Add help annotations - Enhance documentation with help:* annotations
  3. Apply hooks selectively - Use client:true annotation only for commands that need it
  4. Enable defaults - Keep Help, Reference, and Completion enabled unless you have a reason not to
  5. Create help topics - Document complex concepts as separate help topics
  6. Handle errors properly - Use IsCommandErr to distinguish user errors from program errors