# ajalt/clikt

Multiplatform command line interface parsing for Kotlin

Repository: https://github.com/ajalt/clikt
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/clikt
Homepage: https://ajalt.github.io/clikt/
Language: Kotlin
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: kotlin, kotlin-library, command-line, command-line-parser, option-parser, argument-parser, argument-parsing, cli
Last push: 2026-01-16T04:47:36+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 67/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 62, release rhythm 54, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3067, "days_push": 229, "days_rel": 229, "gap_med": 63.5, "n_releases_24m": 5}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2996, forks 135 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:37.083990+00:00)

## What it is
Clikt is a multiplatform Kotlin library for building command line interfaces with type-safe, composable parameter parsing. It auto-generates help output and shell autocomplete scripts and supports nested commands across JVM, Node.js, and native targets.

## Use cases
- parse command line arguments in a Kotlin app
- build a CLI tool with nested subcommands
- generate help text and shell autocomplete for a CLI
- write type-safe option and argument parsing
- create a multiplatform command line tool in Kotlin

## When to choose
- you're writing command line tools in Kotlin or Kotlin Multiplatform
- you want automatic help generation and shell completion scripts
- you need nested commands and type-safe parameter conversion

## When to avoid
- you're building CLIs in a language other than Kotlin
- you need a standalone CLI executable rather than a parsing library

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: cli, parser, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: jvm, windows
- tags: kotlin-multiplatform, argument-parsing, option-parser, shell-autocomplete, help-generation, command-line, nodejs, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- ajalt/clikt (main) score 67

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:37.083990+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:30:44.882038+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ajalt/clikt (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:37.083990+00:00, sha bbadc030ed53)
  - homepage: https://ajalt.github.io/clikt/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:45:57.989489+00:00, sha 3ea717f6b30b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.