Go CLI Code Review

Go CLI Code Review

Review Go CLI applications and produce an actionable checklist of findings.

Review Workflow

1. Gather code - Read all Go files in the CLI project
2. Analyze - Evaluate against review categories (see below)
3. Produce checklist - Use template from references/​review-checklist.md

Review Categories

Evaluate each area systematically:

CLI Structure & Framework

• Framework usage (prefer Cobra for complex CLIs)
• Command hierarchy and discoverability
• Help text quality with examples
• Version command following semver

Error Handling

• RunE vs Run (must return errors)
• Error wrapping with %w and context
• User-facing error actionability
• Meaningful exit codes (0=success, 1=error, 2=usage)
• No panics in normal paths

Flag & Argument Design

• Lowercase-kebab-case naming
• Short flags for common options (-v, -o, -q)
• Required flags marked and validated early
• Sensible defaults
• Clear descriptions

Input/​Output

• stderr for errors/​progress, stdout for data
• Machine-readable output support (--json, --format)
• Quiet and verbose mode support
• Non-TTY mode handling (no prompts)

Security

• Secrets via env vars or files, never flags
• Path traversal prevention
• No shell injection
• URL scheme validation
• No sensitive data in logs

Testing

• Command-level unit tests
• Error path coverage
• Integration tests for critical flows

Performance & Resources

• Context-based cancellation
• Signal handling (SIGINT/​SIGTERM)
• Proper resource cleanup (defer)
• No goroutine leaks

Go Idioms

• Effective Go style compliance
• Immediate error handling
• Package naming conventions
• Interface/​struct patterns

Reference Material

For patterns and examples, see references/​cli-patterns.md.

Output Format

Use the checklist template from references/​review-checklist.md:

## Critical Issues
- [ ] **[C1]** `file.go:123` - Description
  - **Impact:** ...
  - **Fix:** ...

## Warnings
- [ ] **[W1]** `file.go:45` - Description
  - **Why:** ...
  - **Fix:** ...

## Suggestions
- [ ] **[S1]** `file.go:78` - Description
  - **Consider:** ...

## Positive Patterns
- **[P1]** `file.go:90` - What was done well

Severity levels:

• Critical: Security issues, crashes, data loss - must fix
• Warning: Bugs, anti-patterns, maintenance concerns - should fix
• Suggestion: Style, optimization, minor improvements - nice to have
• Positive: Good practices worth highlighting