Tool Development Skill

Overview

This skill teaches how to build production-ready CLI tools, automation scripts, and Python utilities.

Principles

• •User Experience First: Intuitive CLI with clear help messages
• •Robust Error Handling: Graceful failure with helpful error messages
• •Comprehensive Logging: Structured logging for debugging
• •Configuration Management: Flexible config via files and environment variables
• •Testing: Unit and integration tests for reliability
• •Documentation: Clear README and inline documentation

Key Capabilities

1. CLI Frameworks

• •argparse (standard library)
• •click (decorator-based)
• •typer (type-hint based)

2. Configuration

• •Multiple config sources (files, env vars, CLI args)
• •Standard config formats (YAML, TOML, JSON)
• •Validation and defaults

3. Packaging

• •setup.py and pyproject.toml
• •Entry points
• •Distribution to PyPI

When to Use This Skill

Load this skill when:

• •Building CLI tools
• •Creating automation scripts
• •Packaging Python utilities
• •Designing CLI interfaces
• •Adding configuration management

Sections

• •cli-patterns.md: argparse, click, typer patterns
• •packaging.md: setup.py, pyproject.toml, distribution
• •configuration.md: Config files, environment variables
• •logging.md: Structured logging, log levels