I am stuck on a small CLI people can trust. I need to design a command-line tool with dry-run, clear errors, and idempotent behavior, but my current attempt is getting vague and too big. What would you check first?
The checklist I use for a small CLI people can trust
I kept the useful constraints and dropped the role-play. It works better when the missing details are stated plainly.
First, shrink the decision. Do not solve the whole subject at once.
- Reproduce the failure before changing code.
- Keep the patch smaller than the diagnosis.
- Write the rollback before deployment.
Write down the result you need by the end of this session. Then choose one input you trust and make a first pass that can be checked. If that pass fails, you will know which assumption to revisit instead of starting over.
The smaller decision was the missing piece. I was asking for the whole system at once.
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