CLI Distill

Review and simplify CLI tools that have grown too complex — too many flags, unclear defaults, or high cognitive load per invocation. The goal is a tool that's easy to use correctly and hard to use incorrectly.

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS — path to a CLI script or tool, or blank to target the current branch's changed files.

Phase 1: Discover

Identify what to review:

1. If $ARGUMENTS names a file or directory, scope to that
2. Otherwise, find CLI scripts changed on this branch (git-branch-diff-files | grep -E '\.(sh|bash|py|ts|js)$')
3. If no files are found, stop and tell the user: "No CLI scripts found on this branch. Pass a file path as an argument (e.g., /cli-distill path/to/script.sh) or run on a branch with CLI file changes."
4. Read each file. For each, inventory: total flags, required vs optional, subcommand count, typical invocation length

Phase 2: Assess

Read ${CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:-~/.claude}/skills/cli-distill/REFERENCE.md for the full set of simplification dimensions. If the file is not found, stop and tell the user: "REFERENCE.md not found — run uv run install.py to install the cli-* skills."

Evaluate each tool against those dimensions. For each, note:

• Solid — appropriately simple for what it does
• Gap — unnecessary complexity users must navigate
• Risk — complexity that causes misuse or errors

Focus on gaps and risks. Don't enumerate what's already solid unless it's noteworthy.

Phase 3: Propose

Write out findings to the user, grouped by severity. For each finding: what's complex, why it's a problem, and the proposed simplification.

1. Risks — complexity that actively causes misuse
2. Gaps — unnecessary friction users hit on common paths
3. Improvements — simplifications that would make the tool more pleasant

Then confirm:

AskUserQuestion:
  question: "Here's what I found. How would you like to proceed?"
  header: "Confirm"
  options:
    - label: "Fix all"
      description: "Implement all simplifications for risks and gaps."
    - label: "Risks only"
      description: "Fix only the complexity that causes misuse — skip gaps and improvements."
    - label: "Let me pick"
      description: "I'll choose which simplifications to apply."
    - label: "Stop here"
      description: "Don't change anything. The assessment stands on its own."

If "Fix all" → implement all risks + gaps. If "Risks only" → implement risks only. If "Let me pick" → present findings individually for accept/reject. If "Stop here" → end.

Phase 4: Implement

Fix each accepted finding. After all changes:

1. Run existing tests if present — detect the runner (pytest for Python, go test for Go, npm test/jest/vitest for Node/TS, bats for shell). Use timeout 300 on all invocations.
2. Verify the simplified interface still covers all use cases
3. Summarize changes made