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CLI-Anything Harness Builder

Lets Codex build, test, validate and list CLI wrappers around GUI apps or source repos

Source Download skill
Repository
HKUDS/CLI-Anything
Stars
58,084
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
4 files

What it does

This skill teaches Codex to act like the CLI-Anything builder. When asked, Codex turns a GUI application or source repository into a command-line harness: a Python package with one-shot commands, an interactive mode, JSON output, and tests run against the real software. It follows a detailed methodology bundled with the skill, falling back to condensed rules if those files cannot be found. It can also refine an existing harness, run its tests, validate it against a checklist, or list installed tools.

Great for

  • Developers who want an AI agent to expose a desktop or open-source tool as a scriptable CLI
  • Teams building agent-accessible interfaces for existing software
  • Maintainers of CLI-Anything who want Codex to follow the same methodology

Skip it if

  • Users who just want to run an existing CLI tool; this skill is for building harnesses, not using them
  • Use on production software without review, since generated harnesses run commands against real backends and may modify files

Try asking

  • “Build a CLI harness for ./gimp using the CLI-Anything methodology”
  • “Refine my existing blender harness by adding high-impact commands without removing current ones”
  • “Validate the harness in ./inkscape against the packaging and testing checklist”
  • “List all CLI-Anything tools installed on this machine as JSON”
Step-by-step guide: how to use CLI-Anything Harness BuilderInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 4 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    codex-skill.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip codex-skill.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip codex-skill.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Run scripts/install.sh from a full repository checkout, since it refuses to run without the canonical plugin files; remove an existing ~/.codex/skills/cli-anything folder manually before reinstalling.
  • Review generated harness code and test results before trusting it, especially the claims in TEST.md.
  • Point the agent at a local source path when possible to avoid cloning from GitHub at runtime.

What's inside

  • agents/openai.yaml
  • scripts/install.sh
  • SKILL.md
  • tests/test_install.sh

Redistributed unmodified from HKUDS/CLI-Anything under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.