---
id: clikit
version: "0.6.2"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# clikit — CliKit is a group of utilities to build beautiful and testable command line interfaces.

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 1.5M/mo

## What it is and what it does

CliKit is a utility library for constructing command-line interfaces with styled output and built-in testing support. It abstracts away the complexity of terminal formatting and command parsing, allowing developers to focus on CLI logic rather than low-level I/O handling. The library depends on pastel for color/style rendering, pylev for string distance calculations, and crashtest for error handling.

The package is no longer maintained—its last release was in June 2020, and the repository has seen no commits since August 2023. It was designed primarily as the foundation for Cleo, a higher-level CLI framework. While it carries no known security vulnerabilities and installs with low friction, its abandonment means no bug fixes, security patches, or compatibility updates for modern Python versions will be forthcoming.

Use it for:

- Building styled command-line tools when Cleo is overkill or you need lower-level control over CLI behavior.
- Writing testable CLI applications that separate I/O logic from command execution.
- Formatting terminal output with colors and text styles without external terminal libraries.
- Legacy projects that already depend on clikit and need to maintain compatibility.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

CliKit provides utilities for building command-line interfaces with formatted output and testability features, serving as the foundation for the Cleo CLI framework.

No—unless you are maintaining legacy code that already depends on clikit. The package is abandoned and has not been updated since 2020. For new CLI projects, use Cleo (which builds on clikit but is actively maintained) or a modern alternative like Click or Typer. If you must use it, verify that all its dependencies remain compatible with your target Python version.

## Install

pip install clikit
uv add clikit
poetry add clikit

## Installing clikit

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with low friction, but the package is abandoned—last release was 2020-06-09 and no commits since 2023-08-20. Maintenance has stopped; consider Cleo or a maintained alternative if you need active support.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive and imposes no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source projects.

Quickstart:

pip install clikit

from clikit.api.command import Command
from clikit.api.io import IO

command = Command('hello')
# Configure and execute your CLI command

Requires Python 2.7 or 3.4+; Python 2 support is included but deprecated in modern ecosystems.

Verify before relying:

- Whether pastel, pylev, and crashtest dependencies are actively maintained or also abandoned.
- Compatibility with Python versions beyond 3.8 (classifiers stop at 3.8; current support unclear).
- Whether Cleo (the primary dependent project) remains the recommended path forward for new CLI projects.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 1.5M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

cli interface builder, command line utilities, formatted terminal output, testable cli framework, command parsing, cli styling, terminal formatting, abandoned, cli-framework

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/clikit) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/clikit/)