Python CUI Frameworks and Libraries
A list of frameworks and libraries for developing CLI (Command Line Interface) / CUI (Character User Interface) applications in Python.
Major CLI Libraries
The Python ecosystem offers various libraries that support CLI development with different approaches:
- Type Hint Driven: Typer - Modern approach similar to FastAPI
- Decorator Based: Click - Mature library by the same team as Flask
- Auto Generation: Python Fire - Innovative automatic CLI generation by Google
- Declarative: docopt - Automatically generates parser from documentation
- Standard Library: argparse - Basic parser with no additional dependencies
Selection Guide
- For Beginners: Python Fire (minimal learning cost)
- Modern Development: Typer (type safety and IDE completion)
- Professional CLI: Click (rich features and ecosystem)
- Minimal Dependencies: argparse (standard library)
- Unique Approach: docopt (declarative definition)
GitHub Star Comparison
| No | Name | GitHub Stars | Description | Trend | License | Official Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Python Fire | ⭐ 27.8k | A library by Google that automatically generates CLIs from any Python object. Create CLIs with minimal code. | Popular for prototyping or quickly turning existing Python code into CLIs. Adopted in Google projects. | Apache-2.0 | Official |
| 2 | Typer | ⭐ 17.5k | A modern library for building CLI applications using Python type hints. Built on top of Click, it allows creating CLIs with minimal boilerplate. | A rapidly growing CLI library by the FastAPI author. Emphasizing type safety and developer experience, adopted by many projects in 2024. | MIT | Official |
| 3 | Click | ⭐ 16.7k | A powerful and widely-used Python CLI library that uses decorators to define commands. Created by the Flask developer. | Maintaining stable popularity over the years, it's the de facto standard adopted by many large projects. | BSD-3-Clause | Official |
| 4 | docopt | ⭐ 8.0k | An innovative library that automatically generates command-line argument parsers from docstrings. Takes a declarative approach. | Maintains steady popularity with its unique approach, but migration to the more actively maintained docopt-ng is recommended. | MIT | Official |
| 5 | argparse | - | Command-line argument parser included in Python's standard library. Provides basic CLI functionality without requiring additional dependencies. | As part of the standard library, it continues to be widely used for simple CLI tools or when minimizing dependencies. | PSF | Official |