Building a CLI Application with Golang (Because GUIs Are Overrated!)

Golang

""Learning Golang is like learning to cook with a simple recipe but yielding maximum results—with clean syntax, fast performance, and multitasking capabilities through goroutines that make you feel like a master chef, handling multiple tasks at once without a hitch!""

Ever wanted to create a powerful Command Line Interface (CLI) app using Go? Well, you’re in the right place! Let’s build a Go CLI that actually does something useful.

Why Build a CLI in Go? (Because Typing is Cool!)

• Performance – Runs fast with minimal memory usage.
• Cross-platform – Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Easy to Build – The standard library is enough to get started.

Setting Up Your Go CLI Project (Let's Get Started!)

First, ensure Go is installed. Then create a new project:

mkdir go-cli && cd go-cli

go mod init github.com/yourusername/go-cli

Install the cobra package for better CLI handling:

go get -u github.com/spf13/cobra@latest

Writing Your First CLI Command (It's Easier Than You Think!)

Create a new file main.go and add:

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
)

func main() {
	var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
		Use:   "greet",
		Short: "Prints a greeting message",
		Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
			fmt.Println("Hello, CLI world!")
		},
	}
	rootCmd.Execute()
}

Run it:

go run main.go

You should see:

Hello, CLI world!

Boom! You just made your first CLI app!

Adding Flags and Arguments (Because Options Are Cool!)

Modify main.go to accept a name argument:

var name string

func main() {
	var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
		Use:   "greet",
		Short: "Prints a greeting message",
		Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
			fmt.Printf("Hello, %s!\n", name)
		},
	}
	rootCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&name, "name", "n", "World", "Name to greet")
	rootCmd.Execute()
}

Run it:

go run main.go --name=Alice

You should see:

Hello, Alice! 

You just built your first Go CLI app! Keep improving it by adding subcommands, config files, and even colorful output. The CLI world is yours!