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Comprehensive guidance for building and debugging JavaScript and TypeScript CLIs with @clack/core and @clack/prompts, backed by bundled upstream source and examples. Use when implementing clack prompt flows, deciding between core primitives and styled prompts, adapting clack examples, or validating clack API usage.

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Sourceahmadawais/skills

Added on2026-02-21

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add ahmadawais/skills clack

SKILL.md Content

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Clack CLI Skill

Use this skill to implement reliable interactive CLIs with

@clack/core

and

@clack/prompts

.

Workflow

Decide whether to use
```
@clack/prompts
```
or
```
@clack/core
```
.
Read only the minimum reference files needed for the task.
Start from the closest example in
```
references/examples/
```
.
Implement cancellation handling after every prompt.

Add UX polish (

intro

,

outro

,

spinner

,

progress

,

tasks

,

log

,

taskLog

,

stream

) when useful.

Verify imports against export maps in

references/docs/prompts-exports.ts

and

references/docs/core-exports.ts

.

Pick the Right Layer

Use

@clack/prompts

by default.

Choose it for production-ready styling and quick delivery.
Use it when the request maps to standard prompt types: text, confirm, select, multiselect, grouped prompts, logs, spinners, progress, tasks, or streaming logs.

Use

@clack/core

when lower-level control is required.

Choose it for custom rendering, custom prompt behavior, or unstyled primitives.
Use it when the request needs direct prompt classes (
```
TextPrompt
```
,
```
SelectPrompt
```
,
```
ConfirmPrompt
```
,
```
Prompt
```
) or deep customization.

Mandatory Safety Patterns

Handle cancellation on every prompt result.

ts

import * as p from '@clack/prompts';

const value = await p.text({ message: 'Your name?' });
if (p.isCancel(value)) {
  p.cancel('Operation cancelled.');
  process.exit(0);
}

Start and close sessions cleanly for user-facing CLIs.

ts

p.intro('create-app');
// prompts
p.outro('Done');

Prompt Design Guidance

Use these defaults unless the user asks otherwise.

```
text
```
: provide
```
validate
```
for required or constrained input.
```
confirm
```
: use for binary decisions; avoid coercing free-form text.
```
select
```
: use for mutually exclusive choices.
```
multiselect
```
or
```
groupMultiselect
```
: use for multi-choice and hierarchical multi-choice flows.
```
group
```
: gather structured answers while preserving dependencies between steps.
```
spinner
```
and
```
progress
```
: wrap long-running tasks and update status clearly.
```
tasks
```
: execute sequential task blocks with spinner status.
```
taskLog
```
: stream subprocess output and finish with success/failure.
```
stream
```
: render async or tokenized output (for LLM-style streaming).

Implementation Sequence

Inspect user requirements and identify required prompt primitives.
Read the nearest example under
```
references/examples/
```
.

Confirm function/class availability from:

```
references/docs/prompts-exports.ts
```
```
references/docs/core-exports.ts
```

If behavior is unclear, inspect source under:

```
references/source/prompts/
```
```
references/source/core/
```

Implement with cancellation guards and clear terminal messaging.
Keep fallback behavior for non-interactive contexts when requested (see spinner and CI-oriented examples).

Reference Loading Strategy

Start with these files.

```
references/docs/prompts-readme.md
```
```
references/docs/core-readme.md
```
```
references/INDEX.md
```

Load specific source files only as needed.

Prompts wrapper internals:
```
references/source/prompts/*.ts
```
Core prompt primitives:
```
references/source/core/prompts/*.ts
```
Core utility behavior:
```
references/source/core/utils/*.ts
```

Example-First Mapping

Use this quick mapping to avoid re-inventing flows.

General prompt suite:
```
references/examples/basic/index.ts
```

Validation:

references/examples/basic/text-validation.ts

Autocomplete:

references/examples/basic/autocomplete.ts

Autocomplete multi-select:

references/examples/basic/autocomplete-multiselect.ts

Defaults:

references/examples/basic/default-value.ts

Filesystem path prompt:
```
references/examples/basic/path.ts
```
Spinner basics:
```
references/examples/basic/spinner.ts
```

Spinner cancellation:

references/examples/basic/spinner-cancel.ts

Advanced spinner cancellation:

references/examples/basic/spinner-cancel-advanced.ts

CI-oriented spinner behavior:
```
references/examples/basic/spinner-ci.ts
```

Timer-style spinner updates:

references/examples/basic/spinner-timer.ts

Progress bar:
```
references/examples/basic/progress.ts
```
Task log streaming:
```
references/examples/basic/task-log.ts
```
Stream utility:
```
references/examples/basic/stream.ts
```
Changesets integration flow:
```
references/examples/changesets/index.ts
```

Quality Bar

Before finalizing any clack implementation:

Confirm every import exists in the current exports file.
Ensure cancellation flow always exits safely.
Ensure prompt wording is short and unambiguous.
Ensure long-running operations provide visible status.
Ensure selected layer (
```
core
```
vs
```
prompts
```
) matches customization needs.