Skip to content

[cli-consistency] CLI Consistency Issues - 2026-05-14 #32129

Description

@github-actions

Summary

Automated CLI consistency inspection found 5 inconsistencies across command help text.

Breakdown by Severity

  • High: 0
  • Medium: 1 (shadowed global flag)
  • Low: 4 (description/wording inconsistencies)

Inspection Details

  • Total Commands Inspected: 32 (all top-level commands and subcommands, each run with --help)
  • Commands with Issues: 4
  • Date: 2026-05-14
  • Method: Executed all CLI commands with --help flags and analyzed actual output

Findings Summary

No issues found in:

  • Flag naming consistency across commands
  • Example accuracy and format
  • Short descriptions (no trailing periods)
  • Subcommand listing completeness
  • --repo, --json, --engine, --dir flag consistency
  • Global flags (--banner, --verbose, --help) present in all commands (except outcomes — see below)

⚠️ Issues found

1. `outcomes` defines a local `--verbose` flag that shadows the global one (Medium)

Commands Affected: outcomes
Type: Local flag shadows global flag

Current output from ./gh-aw outcomes --help:

Flags:
  ...  
  -v, --verbose               Show detailed output

Global Flags:
      --banner   Display ASCII logo banner with purple GitHub color theme

The --verbose flag appears in local Flags: with description "Show detailed output", not in Global Flags: where it appears for every other command ("Enable verbose output showing detailed information"). The global --verbose is hidden because the local one shadows it.

Source: pkg/cli/outcomes_command.go:62cmd.Flags().BoolP("verbose", "v", false, "Show detailed output")

Suggested Fix: Remove the local verbose flag from outcomes_command.go and read verbose from the global flag (via cobra parent), like all other commands do.

2. `version` short vs long description mismatch (Low)

Commands Affected: version
Type: Wording inconsistency

In ./gh-aw --help: version Print the current version
In ./gh-aw version --help: Show the installed version of the gh aw extension.

"Print" vs "Show"; the long description is also more specific.

Suggested Fix: Align both to e.g. "Show the installed version of the gh aw extension" (no period).

3. `pr transfer` opening sentence missing "squashed" (Low)

Commands Affected: pr transfer
Type: Wording inconsistency within the same command

Opening sentence: "applies the changes as a single commit"
Numbered steps: "Apply changes as a single squashed commit"

Suggested Fix: Add "squashed" to the opening sentence.

4. `logs --after` flag uses unusual `(Cache eviction)` inline category prefix (Low)

Commands Affected: logs
Type: Formatting inconsistency in flag description

The --after flag description starts with (Cache eviction), unlike any other flag in the CLI. This style is not used elsewhere and could confuse users.

Suggested Fix: Remove the (Cache eviction) prefix. The examples section already has a # Cache maintenance comment that provides the same context.

Generated by CLI Consistency Checker · ● 12.5M ·

  • expires on May 16, 2026, 1:51 PM UTC

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    automationclicookieIssue Monster Loves Cookies!documentationImprovements or additions to documentationux

    Type

    No type

    Projects

    No projects

    Milestone

    No milestone

    Relationships

    None yet

    Development

    No branches or pull requests

    Issue actions