node-cli

Instruction file imported from mako10k/workspace-template (.github/instructions/node-cli.instructions.md). Copyright stays with the author.

Apply this instruction only after the Node CLI pack has been selected.

In this template repository, stack instructions are on-demand baselines rather than always-on auto-applied rules. After narrowing a real workspace, keep the selected instruction file and add repo-specific applyTo globs only if automatic loading is still desired.

Defaults

• Prefer TypeScript unless the user explicitly wants plain JavaScript.
• Prefer npm and Node 24 LTS as the initial assumption unless compatibility requires something else.
• For focused CLIs on modern Node, prefer direct .ts execution when erasable syntax is enough; add a build step only when packaging, distribution, or non-erasable syntax requires it.
• Keep CLI entry points under bin/ or src/cli/.
• Separate user-facing command parsing from domain logic.
• Prefer one explicit invocation style over mixed aliases unless compatibility requires both.

Common shapes in this user's repositories

• single CLI package
• CLI plus MCP or LSP server
• CLI plus VS Code extension or other secondary surface

Start with the CLI boundary first and add the secondary surfaces only when they are explicit requirements.

Validation

• Validate the smallest command that exercises the changed path.
• When a CLI has subcommands, add at least one smoke path per major command family.
• When TypeScript is used, default to typecheck as a separate check instead of hiding it inside build.