Use when building, improving, or reviewing command-line interfaces for better user experience - before implementing commands/output/errors, when users report confusion or frustration, or when CLI feels hard to use - provides UX principles, visual design techniques, and practical patterns for creating discoverable, delightful CLIs
Provides UX principles, visual design techniques, and practical patterns for creating discoverable, delightful CLIs. Use when building, improving, or reviewing command-line interfaces—especially before implementing commands or when users report confusion.
/plugin marketplace add technicalpickles/pickled-claude-plugins/plugin install mcpproxy@technicalpickles-marketplaceThis skill inherits all available tools. When active, it can use any tool Claude has access to.
CLAUDE.mdTESTING.mdpractical-patterns.mdreading-list.mdresearch/cli_feedback_blog.mdresearch/ux/01-ux-principles.mdresearch/ux/02-ux-design-guide.mdresearch/ux/02.5-crafting-delightful-command-line-experiences.mdresearch/ux/03-readling-list.mdresearch/ux/04-manifest.mdresearch/ux/cli_ux_heuristics_checklist.mdresearch/ux/cli_ux_research_master_prompt.mdresearch/visual/00-research-prompt.mdresearch/visual/01-visual-design-principles.mdresearch/visual/02-playbook.mdresearch/visual/03-reading-list.mdtests/README.mdtests/baseline/scenario-1-time-pressure.mdtests/baseline/scenario-2-existing-codebase.mdtests/baseline/scenario-3-troubleshooting.mdModern CLIs are conversations between human and machine. Great CLIs feel discoverable, responsive, and forgiving. Poor CLIs leave users guessing, waiting, and frustrated.
Core principle: Every CLI interaction should answer: "What happened? What can I do? What's next?"
Building:
Improving:
Reviewing:
| Working On | Read This |
|---|---|
| New CLI under time pressure | practical-patterns.md (Priority Checklist) |
| Adding to existing CLI | practical-patterns.md (Working with Existing CLIs) |
| Fixing "confusing" CLI | practical-patterns.md (CLI UX Audit Checklist) |
| Command structure, flags | ux-principles.md (Familiarity, Discoverability) |
| Output formatting | visual-techniques.md (Layout, Spacing, Color) |
| Error messages, help text | practical-patterns.md (Error Message Patterns) |
| Overall architecture | ux-principles.md (complete overview) |
See ux-principles.md for detailed guidance and examples.
See visual-techniques.md for implementation patterns.
❌ Silent operations - No feedback during slow operations ✅ Show progress, confirmations, or at minimum "Working..."
❌ Cryptic errors without guidance - "Error: invalid input" ✅ Explain what's wrong, what's valid, how to fix: "Error: Invalid environment 'production'. Valid: dev, staging, prod"
❌ No --help text - Forces users to read docs or source ✅ Every command supports --help with usage and examples
❌ Wrong exit codes - Always returns 0, breaks scripting ✅ 0 for success, 1 for errors
❌ Color-only information - Inaccessible without color support ✅ Always pair color with text/symbols, support --no-color
❌ Walls of unstructured text - Dense output hard to scan ✅ Use spacing, alignment, hierarchy to structure information
When building CLI urgently, include these first (high impact, low effort):
Skip initially (lower priority):
Detailed guidance:
Research materials:
This skill should be used when the user asks to "create an agent", "add an agent", "write a subagent", "agent frontmatter", "when to use description", "agent examples", "agent tools", "agent colors", "autonomous agent", or needs guidance on agent structure, system prompts, triggering conditions, or agent development best practices for Claude Code plugins.
This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a slash command", "add a command", "write a custom command", "define command arguments", "use command frontmatter", "organize commands", "create command with file references", "interactive command", "use AskUserQuestion in command", or needs guidance on slash command structure, YAML frontmatter fields, dynamic arguments, bash execution in commands, user interaction patterns, or command development best practices for Claude Code.
This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a hook", "add a PreToolUse/PostToolUse/Stop hook", "validate tool use", "implement prompt-based hooks", "use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}", "set up event-driven automation", "block dangerous commands", or mentions hook events (PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop, SubagentStop, SessionStart, SessionEnd, UserPromptSubmit, PreCompact, Notification). Provides comprehensive guidance for creating and implementing Claude Code plugin hooks with focus on advanced prompt-based hooks API.