Library / Terminal & command line / CLI
No. 098·noun·also called command-line interface, command line tool, command-line app

CLI

A tool you use by typing commands in the terminal, rather than through windows and buttons.

SPECIMEN · DIAGRAM · COMPARE

GUI

  • Windows and buttons
  • Easy to discover
  • Hard to automate

CLI

  • Typed commands
  • Fast once learned
  • Easy for agents and scripts
Definition

What it is

A CLI (command-line interface) is a program designed to be run from the terminal. Instead of opening an app and clicking around, you type its name followed by what you want it to do: git commit, npm install, stripe login.

Many services offer both a website and a CLI. The website is friendlier; the CLI is faster, scriptable, and easy for a coding agent to drive, which is why agents prefer it.

The opposite is a GUI (graphical user interface): anything with windows, icons, and buttons.

Say it like a builder

How to ask for it

Vague

“Can you do the Stripe setup thing for me without me clicking through the website?”

Precise

“Use the Stripe CLI to create the webhook endpoint and forward test events to my local server, so I don't have to configure it in the Stripe dashboard.”

Why it works

Asking for the CLI tells the agent to do the setup itself with typed commands, instead of writing you instructions for a website.

In the wild

You've seen this in

  • ·git, the version control tool
  • Jnpm, the JavaScript package manager
  • TThe Stripe, Vercel, and GitHub CLIs
  • MHomebrew on a Mac
Usage note

Often confused with

TerminalThe terminal is where you type; a CLI is one particular tool you run there.APIAn API is for programs talking to programs; a CLI is a typed interface for people (and agents) at a terminal.