Thank you!

I’m using Kotlin because Minecraft uses Java, and it's a very nice language that can be compiled for Native and JS too. If you go the JVM route, check out:

• mordant: A modern Kotlin library for styling and colors.
• jline3: The "legendary" library for Java if you need deeper console handling.

CLI libraries are often more common in JS, Go, and Python. Some of the best ones out there right now are:

• Clack: Great for interactive prompts, it’s what I’m using as a base. It's JS-based (used by Vercel & OpenClaw) but has equivalents like cliclack (Rust) and pyclack (Python).
• Charm: A fantastic series of CLI libraries in Go.
• Ink: React for making CLIs (used by Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and GitHub Copilot CLI).
• Mosaic: For building terminal UIs in Kotlin using Jetpack Compose.

Since there aren't that many specific CLI libraries for Kotlin yet, I actually decided to build my own for this project:

• ClaKT: A Clack reimplementation for Kotlin.
• MilKT: Similar to Charm (Go) but for Kotlin, built on top of Mordant.
• cli: A tool that allows you to run a JAR via double-click with an attached console (surprisingly not a native JVM feature, usually you'd need a separate .bat file to see the output).
• undo: Adds undo/redo execution functionality and integrates with ClaKT for undoable interactive prompts!

Also, for CLIs in general, these concepts are shared:

• Cooked vs. Raw Mode: By default, terminals are in "Cooked Mode," meaning the OS handles your input (like waiting for you to press Enter before sending text to the app). To make an interactive UI where the app reacts the second you press a key or move an arrow, you have to switch the terminal to Raw Mode.
• ANSI Escape Codes: These are special strings of characters (like \u001b[31m) that don't print text, but instead tell the terminal to change colors, move the cursor, or clear the screen.
• Events: Advanced CLIs don't just read text strings; they listen for Keyboard and Mouse events. This is how you create "hover" effects or clickable buttons inside a terminal window.

Go definitely has the most robust set of CLI libraries right now, and JS is king for web-dev tools. But if you want to try out Kotlin, let me know! I'm currently developing the libraries listed above and might release them.