What is a common pattern to create a custom CLI command for a generator?

What is a common pattern to create a custom CLI command for a generator?

• A. Create a GUI for the generator
• B. Install a separate CLI tool
• C. Define CLI options with this.option and expose usage via yo <namespace> --help
• D. Embed CLI help in the code comments

Answer: (C)

Defining CLI options inside the generator and exposing usage through the Yeoman command’s --help is the standard way to add a custom CLI command for a generator. You declare flags with this.option(...) in your generator, specifying the type, description, and defaults. Yeoman then automatically builds the help output, so running yo <namespace> --help shows all the available options and what they do. Inside the generator you read the chosen values via this.options.<name> to steer the generator’s behavior, such as enabling features, choosing templates, or skipping prompts. This approach keeps the CLI intuitive and self-documenting. The other choices don’t fit because a GUI isn’t a CLI, installing a separate CLI tool adds unnecessary complexity, and embedding help in code comments doesn’t provide actionable runtime options or automatic help.

Defining CLI options inside the generator and exposing usage through the Yeoman command’s --help is the standard way to add a custom CLI command for a generator. You declare flags with this.option(...) in your generator, specifying the type, description, and defaults. Yeoman then automatically builds the help output, so running yo --help shows all the available options and what they do. Inside the generator you read the chosen values via this.options. to steer the generator’s behavior, such as enabling features, choosing templates, or skipping prompts. This approach keeps the CLI intuitive and self-documenting.

The other choices don’t fit because a GUI isn’t a CLI, installing a separate CLI tool adds unnecessary complexity, and embedding help in code comments doesn’t provide actionable runtime options or automatic help.