title: "Ruby CUI Frameworks" description: "Overview of frameworks and libraries for building CLI applications in Ruby"
Ruby CUI Frameworks
Overview
Ruby, with its expressive syntax and design focused on developer happiness, is well-suited for rapid CLI tool development. Creating DSLs (Domain Specific Languages) is easy, and there are abundant libraries with intuitive APIs. It's particularly popular for development support tools, automation scripts, and system administration tools. The RubyGems ecosystem makes it easy to add necessary functionality.
Major Libraries
Thor
A powerful and flexible CLI framework also used by Rails generators. It allows concise description of subcommands, option parsing, and task definitions.
OptionParser
A basic command-line parsing tool provided as part of the Ruby standard library. Can be used without external dependencies.
TTY
A comprehensive toolkit for CLI application development. It provides numerous components including prompts, tables, progress bars, and colored output.
GLI (Git-Like Interface)
A framework for building Git-style subcommand interfaces. Suitable for developing tools with complex command structures.
Slop
A simple and lightweight option parser. Basic argument parsing can be implemented with minimal code.
HighLine
A high-level console I/O library. It provides interactive features like menus, prompts, and password input.
Selection Guide
When to Choose Thor
- Integration with Rails applications
- Complex subcommand structures
- Also use as task runner
- Rich features and flexibility
- Industry-standard solution
When to Choose OptionParser
- Want to avoid external dependencies
- Simple argument parsing is sufficient
- Use only Ruby standard library
- Lightweight scripts
- Satisfied with basic features
When to Choose TTY
- Need comprehensive CLI development environment
- Beautiful terminal output
- Combine multiple UI elements
- Modern CLI applications
- Consistent API design
When to Choose GLI
- Git-style interfaces
- Complex command hierarchies
- Automatic help generation
- Plugin architecture
- Large-scale CLI tools
When to Choose Slop
- Minimal setup
- Concise code
- Basic option parsing
- Want to reduce learning cost
- Small scripts
When to Choose HighLine
- Interactive menus
- User input validation
- Secure password input
- Interactive prompts
- Cross-platform support
By leveraging Ruby's expressiveness and appropriately combining these libraries, you can efficiently develop user-friendly and maintainable CLI tools. In particular, Thor and TTY are adopted in many projects due to their rich features and Ruby-like APIs.
GitHub Star Comparison
| No | Name | GitHub Stars | Description | Trend | License | Official Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thor | ⭐ 5.2k | A popular Ruby library for building command-line tools. Used by Rails, designed to be easy to use, test, and extend. | Widely adopted as the de facto standard for Ruby CLI tools, used in many famous projects like Rails, Bundler, and Vagrant. | MIT | Official |
| 2 | OptionParser | - | Part of Ruby's standard library, making it a readily available and simple choice for basic argument parsing tasks. | As a standard library, it continues to be used in simple scripts as it can be used without additional dependencies. | Ruby | Official |
| 3 | GLI | - | A Ruby library for creating command-line tools with Git-like interfaces. | Suitable for building complex CLI applications with subcommands, chosen by developers who prefer Git-like interfaces. | Apache-2.0 | Official |
| 4 | TTY | - | A toolkit for developing terminal applications. Provides numerous components including CLI parser, prompts, progress bars, and more. | Popular among developers who value customizability due to its modular approach allowing selective use of needed features. | MIT | Official |