How to Scaffold a Go cobra CLI from a Command Brief
Go CLIs rot when they invent viper. Lock cobra. Subcommands only from the brief.
The matching generator is the Go cobra CLI from a Command Brief (No Invented Modules) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).
Lock Go and cobra versions first
Scaffold a Go CLI with cobra from a command brief. Do not invent modules, flags, or versions not locked in Inputs. Start by filling Inputs, not by asking the model to remember last week's run. If a field is blank, write NONE or NOT IN INPUTS and leave it blank through Generate. The card is built so the model cannot honestly invent a number, owner, URL, or command that you did not paste.
Paste these fields before you hit run:
Command brief (bin name, subcommands, flags): [Brief]
Go version I lock (or UNKNOWN): [Go]
cobra version I lock (or UNKNOWN): [Cobra]
Extra modules I may name: [Mods or NONE]
Words I must not use: [Banned]
What I must never invent: [Never]
Output format: [Format]
Language for comments: [Lang]
Module path I allow (or UNKNOWN): [Module]
That inventory is the honesty ledger. Anything that does not appear there is forbidden in the draft. If you catch yourself adding a nice-to-have after the run, you are no longer using the card. You are ghostwriting. Put the extra fact in Inputs and run again.
Root and subcommands only from the brief
Generate is numbered on purpose. Do not skip a step because the first paragraph looked done. The early steps exist to stop later prose from smuggling claims.
Walk the Generate list in order:
- Honesty ledger: Brief, Go, Cobra, Mods, Module, Lang. Forbidden: extra modules, inventing cobra v2 if UNKNOWN.
- go.mod stub: module path from Module or MODULE UNKNOWN. cobra require only if Cobra locked; else write COBRA VERSION UNKNOWN.
- Root command sketch: Use cobra.Command. Subcommands and flags only from Brief.
- Subcommand stubs: match Brief. No network calls unless Brief says so.
- Mods: attach only Mods. If Brief needs viper and Mods is NONE, write NOT IN INPUTS.
- Go version: quote Go or GO VERSION UNKNOWN. Do not default to 1.22 if UNKNOWN.
- Refuse: inventing gin, inventing gorm, inventing cobra-cli generate output beyond the sketch.
- Compliance pass: quote Banned and Never. Format as Format.
If a step asks for a version lock, quote the version from Inputs in the output. If a step asks for a refuse list, keep the refuse list in the published artifact, not in a sidebar you delete. Reviewers should see what the model was not allowed to do.
Leave MODULE UNKNOWN when blank
Most failures are the same shape: a missing field gets a confident fill. A conversion rate appears. A Gradle task appears. A flash point appears. A caption appears on a job that asked for slide text only. Your review is to search the draft for numbers, names, and commands, then grep Inputs. No match means cut.
Honor the constraints as hard stops, not vibes:
- Go cobra CLI from Brief only. Not a full app and not a Rust clap port.
- Never invent modules or versions when UNKNOWN.
- Only subcommands named in Brief.
- No emojis.
When the card says not legal advice, not certification, not an exam dump, or not a caption engine, that sentence belongs at the top of the output. Deleting it to look more finished is how you inherit risk.
Refuse invented extra modules
Finish with the compliance pass the prompt already asks for. Quote the banned-word hits. Cut them. Print character counts when the job has a cap. Print word counts when the job has a budget. List gaps as gaps. Five missing facts are more useful than one smooth paragraph.
Tags on the card (go cobra cli scaffold, cobra command brief, no invented go modules) are a reminder of the job shape, not an invitation to wander into a neighboring cluster. If you need a different surface, open a different PromptDig card rather than stretching this one.
Fill the card, then run
Replace every bracket. Run on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Read the ledger first, then the artifact. If the model invents a commit, KPI, DOI, PEL, bid, or logo, discard the run. Tighten Inputs. Run again. Share the filled card that survived, not the first draft that sounded done.