cli-anything - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: cli-anything description: Use when the user wants Codex to build, refine, test, validate, or list CLI-Anything harnesses for GUI applications or source repositories. Adapts the full CLI-Anything methodology to Codex without changing the generated Python harness format.

CLI-Anything for Codex

Use this skill when the user wants Codex to act like the CLI-Anything builder.

Read the Full Methodology First

Before implementation, use the full methodology source of truth:

Read references/HARNESS.md relative to this skill directory.
Read the matching mode specification under references/commands/.
Read referenced files under references/guides/ only when they apply to the target.
If the installed resources are unavailable and this skill is being used from a CLI-Anything repository checkout, read ../cli-anything-plugin/HARNESS.md and the resources around it.
If neither local source is available, clone or download https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything and use cli-anything-plugin/HARNESS.md.
Only if all full-methodology sources are unavailable, follow the condensed rules below.

The installer vendors the canonical resources from cli-anything-plugin/ into this skill so a normal Codex installation is self-contained.

Resource Map

Path	Purpose
`references/HARNESS.md`	Complete methodology and quality rules
`references/commands/cli-anything.md`	Build-mode specification
`references/commands/refine.md`	Refine-mode specification
`references/commands/test.md`	Test-mode specification
`references/commands/validate.md`	Validation checklist
`references/commands/list.md`	Installed/generated harness discovery
`references/guides/`	On-demand implementation guidance
`scripts/repl_skin.py`	Copy into generated harnesses as `utils/repl_skin.py`
`scripts/preview_bundle.py`	Copy into preview-capable harnesses as `utils/preview_bundle.py`
`scripts/skill_generator.py`	Generate canonical and packaged CLI skills
`scripts/templates/SKILL.md.template`	Skill generation template used by `skill_generator.py`
`references/docs/PREVIEW_PROTOCOL.md`	Shared preview bundle protocol

When reading vendored documents, apply these path remappings instead of resolving plugin paths against the current working directory:

Document reference	Installed skill path
`guides/...`	`references/guides/...`
`cli-anything-plugin/repl_skin.py`	`scripts/repl_skin.py`
`cli-anything-plugin/preview_bundle.py`	`scripts/preview_bundle.py`
`cli-anything-plugin/skill_generator.py`	`scripts/skill_generator.py`
`templates/SKILL.md.template`	`scripts/templates/SKILL.md.template`
`docs/PREVIEW_PROTOCOL.md`	`references/docs/PREVIEW_PROTOCOL.md`

Inputs

Accept either:

A local source path such as ./gimp or /path/to/software
A GitHub repository URL

Derive the software name from the local directory name after cloning if needed.

Modes

Build

Read references/commands/cli-anything.md. Build a complete harness through source analysis, architecture design, implementation, test planning, test implementation, test documentation, CLI-specific SKILL.md generation, and local installation.

Refine

Read references/commands/refine.md. Inventory current commands and tests, compare them against the target software, then incrementally add high-impact capabilities without removing existing commands unless the user requests a breaking change.

Test

Read references/commands/test.md. Run the harness tests against the real backend, verify installed-command subprocess coverage, and update TEST.md only with passing results.

Validate

Read references/commands/validate.md. Validate the harness against the complete directory, implementation, test, documentation, packaging, and code-quality checklist.

List

Read references/commands/list.md. Discover installed and generated CLI-Anything tools and support human-readable or JSON output as requested.

Condensed Fallback Rules

Use these only when the full methodology cannot be retrieved.

Harness Structure

Produce:

<software>/
└── agent-harness/
    ├── <SOFTWARE>.md
    ├── setup.py
    └── cli_anything/
        └── <software>/
            ├── README.md
            ├── __init__.py
            ├── __main__.py
            ├── <software>_cli.py
            ├── core/
            ├── utils/
            └── tests/

Required Behavior

Prefer the real software backend over reimplementation.
Provide one-shot Click subcommands and default REPL mode.
Support --json machine-readable output.
Add session state with undo/redo where the target supports it.
Auto-save one-shot session mutations and support --dry-run.
Use locked session-file writes to avoid concurrent JSON corruption.
Copy and use the unified ReplSkin.
Add truthful preview commands for software with meaningful visual or inspection state.
Generate both canonical and packaged CLI-specific SKILL.md files.

Testing

Write TEST.md before test code.
Keep test_core.py for unit coverage.
Keep test_full_e2e.py for real-file workflows and real backend validation.
Verify rendered/exported output programmatically, not only process exit codes.
Test the installed cli-anything-<software> command via _resolve_cli().
Run release validation with CLI_ANYTHING_FORCE_INSTALLED=1.

Packaging

Use find_namespace_packages(include=["cli_anything.*"]).
Keep cli_anything/ as a namespace package without a top-level __init__.py.
Expose cli-anything-<software> through console_scripts.
Include the packaged CLI-specific skills/SKILL.md.

Output Expectations

When reporting progress or final results, include:

target software and source path
files added or changed
validation commands run
open risks or backend limitations