@clack/prompts
Effortlessly build beautiful command-line apps 🪄 [Try the demo](https://stackblitz.com/edit/clack-prompts?file=index.js)
This package has a good security score with no known vulnerabilities.
Community Reviews
Intuitive CLI prompts with excellent DX and minimal boilerplate
Error handling is straightforward with the `isCancel()` utility, making Ctrl+C handling trivial. The prompts are chainable and support async validation out of the box. What really stands out is the visual consistency—all prompts have a cohesive aesthetic that makes your CLI feel professional immediately. IDE autocompletion works flawlessly, and the inline JSDoc comments provide context without leaving your editor.
The only gotcha is that cancellation throws a symbol rather than an error, which can trip up error boundaries if you're not using `isCancel()`. The package is intentionally minimal, so if you need highly complex form logic or extensive customization, you might need something more heavyweight.
Best for: Building polished, user-friendly CLI tools where you want excellent DX and consistent visual design with minimal configuration.
Avoid if: You need highly customized prompt behaviors or complex multi-step form validation beyond basic async checks.
Polished CLI prompt library with excellent DX and beautiful defaults
The visual polish is immediately apparent without any configuration. Spinners, multi-select prompts, and the intro/outro helpers create professional-looking CLIs out of the box. Error handling is thoughtful: cancellation (Ctrl+C) is handled gracefully by default, returning a special `isCancel()` value you can check rather than throwing exceptions everywhere.
The documentation is concise but complete, with clear examples for each prompt type. One minor gotcha: you need to handle the cancellation flow explicitly for every prompt, which can feel repetitive in larger CLIs. The `group()` helper mitigates this, but it changes your control flow significantly. Despite this, the overall experience is smooth enough that I've migrated multiple projects from Inquirer.js without regret.
Best for: Building modern CLI tools where you want beautiful, polished prompts with minimal configuration and excellent TypeScript support.
Avoid if: You need heavily customized prompt styling or are building highly complex wizard-style CLIs with conditional branching.
Delightful CLI prompts with minimal learning curve
Error handling is straightforward - the library uses symbols for cancellation (isCancel()) which initially felt odd but quickly becomes natural. When users hit Ctrl+C, you get a clear signal to handle gracefully. The visual polish is excellent out-of-the-box with nice unicode characters and color schemes that work across terminals.
Debugging is painless because the library doesn't do too much magic. When things go wrong, it's usually your logic, not the prompt library. The TypeScript types are solid and help catch mistakes early. My only real frustration is limited customization options for styling - you're mostly locked into their design language, which is beautiful but not always brand-appropriate.
Best for: Building modern CLI tools where you want beautiful, consistent prompts without wrestling with low-level terminal APIs.
Avoid if: You need heavily customized UI styling or are building complex terminal UIs with dynamic layouts.
Sign in to write a review
Sign In