Design CLI Output

Q: What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Design CLI Output skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Design CLI Output is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Dev Tools category. Learn more at https://claudskills.com/learn/what-is-skill-md/.

Category: Dev Tools · Sub-category: cli-builders · Last updated: 2026-06-08

type:cli

Design terminal output for a CLI tool with chalk colors, Unicode glyphs, multiple verbosity levels (human, verbose, quiet, JSON), and consistent voice rules. Covers color palette selection, status indicator design, reporter function architecture, ceremony/narrative output variants, and cross-terminal compatibility. Use when building a new CLI reporter module, adding warm narrative output to an existing tool, standardizing output across multiple commands, or designing machine-readable JSON alongside human-readable text.

About this skill (catalog notes)

Design CLI Output includes 8 code blocks for direct copy-paste. The SKILL.md runs to about 1,437 words, in the catalog's typical mid-range.

Source: pjt222.github.io/agent-almanac
License: MIT
Original author: pjt222
Indexed lastmod: 2026-06-08
Catalog position: Dev Tools · cli-builders
Indexed related skills: 10

How Design CLI Output fits the catalog

Design CLI Output sits in the Dev Tools category under the cli-builders sub-topic in the ClaudSkills catalog. There are 10 related skills indexed alongside it; comparing a few before installing usually reveals which fits your workflow best.

These notes are auto-generated from features detected in the SKILL.md file and from this catalog's structure — they aren't part of the source repository.

From the source SKILL.md

Design consistent, multi-level terminal output for a command-line tool.

What this skill does

Design CLI Output is a community-contributed Claude Code skill in the cli-builders sub-category. It ships as a SKILL.md file that Claude Code auto-discovers under ~/.claude/skills/design-cli-output/ and loads when your prompt matches the skill's trigger.

When to invoke it: Use when building a new CLI reporter module, adding warm narrative output to an existing tool, standardizing output across multiple commands, or designing machine-readable JSON alongside human-readable text.

Who uses this skill

The Design CLI Output Claude Code skill is built for developers, power users, and teams automating repetitive workflows and improving developer experience. It's part of ClaudSkills (also referred to as Claude Skills or Claude Code Skills) — the open community-curated registry of 116,000+ SKILL.md files for Anthropic's Claude Code agent and the wider Claude ecosystem (Claude API, Claude Agent SDK).

How to install

Free

Manual install (2 steps)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/design-cli-output
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/design-cli-output/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/design-cli-output/SKILL.md

Or just download SKILL.md directly and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/design-cli-output/. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next session.

Skills live at ~/.claude/skills/design-cli-output/SKILL.md on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\design-cli-output\SKILL.md on Windows. See the full install guide for step-by-step instructions.

📱 Install from your phone or desktop Telegram

Open @claudskills_bot on Telegram, tap Open Desktop App, and the desktop app installs this skill for you. Or share the bot link with a colleague — they get the same one-tap install. Learn more →

Pro

One-click install via the desktop app

The ClaudSkills desktop app installs any skill directly into ~/.claude/skills/ with one click — no terminal required. Pro starts at $9/mo or $149 lifetime.

Pro

For the full experience including quality scoring and one-click install features for each skill — upgrade to Pro.

See pricing → Download desktop app

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Design CLI Output Claude Code skill?

Install via the ClaudSkills desktop app (one click) or copy SKILL.md from the source repository to ~/.claude/skills/design-cli-output/SKILL.md and restart Claude Code. Both flows are detailed at claudskills.com/install/.

What does the Design CLI Output skill do?

Is this skill free to install?

Yes. ClaudSkills is an open registry — every skill keeps its source repository's license, and manual install via copy is free. ClaudSkills Pro ($9/mo, $79/yr, or $149 one-time) adds one-click install via the desktop app and a multi-signal Quality Score.

When should I use the Design CLI Output skill?

Use Design CLI Output when your Claude Code task falls under the Dev Tools category — specifically in the cli builders area. Claude Code auto-discovers installed skills and invokes the right one based on the task description, so you can also ask Claude directly (e.g. "use Design CLI Output" or describe the task and let Claude pick). Browse related skills at /category/tools/.

What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Design CLI Output skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Design CLI Output is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Dev Tools category. Learn more at /learn/what-is-a-claude-skill/.

Attribution & license

Source: https://github.com/pjt222/agent-almanac/blob/HEAD/i18n/caveman-lite/skills/design-cli-output/SKILL.md
License: MIT
Author: pjt222
Website: https://pjt222.github.io/agent-almanac/

Cite this skill

If you reference this skill in a blog post, paper, or documentation, you can cite it as:

APA

pjt222. (2026). Design CLI Output [Claude Code skill]. ClaudSkills. https://claudskills.com/skills/design-cli-output/

BibTeX

@misc{design-cli-output-2026,
  author    = {pjt222},
  title     = {Design CLI Output [Claude Code skill]},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {ClaudSkills},
  url       = {https://claudskills.com/skills/design-cli-output/}
}

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