Go CLI Code Review
Review Go CLI applications and produce an actionable checklist of findings.
Review Workflow
- Gather code - Read all Go files in the CLI project
- Analyze - Evaluate against review categories (see below)
- 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
%wand 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 wellSeverity 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