What is Go Tool Base (GTB)?¶

Modern CLI tools, DevOps workflows, and developer utilities demand far more than basic flag parsing. Go Tool Base (GTB) is a comprehensive lifecycle framework that makes Go applications Agentic, Self-sustaining, and Self-documenting out of the box.

It provides the "batteries included" experience of a macro-framework (like Rails or Laravel), but meticulously tailored for Go command-line applications and beyond.

✅ What GTB IS¶

• A full-lifecycle application framework for Go: covering configuration, versioning, auto-updates, embedded documentation, error handling, and AI integration.
• A CLI-first framework: its default mode is building command-line tools with a rich set of built-in commands (init, version, update, docs, mcp).
• A dependency injection container: the Props struct orchestrates services (config, assets, logging, VCS, AI) and is explicitly passed to commands for ultimate testability.
• A scaffold and generator: gtb generate skeleton creates a ready-to-ship, robustly structured project in seconds.
• A general-purpose application bootstrap, while CLI is the primary interface, GTB's Props container and lifecycle management can power any Go application: web services, daemons, background workers, or hybrid tools.

❌ What GTB is NOT¶

• NOT a web framework. It does not provide HTTP routers, middleware pipelines, or HTML template engines. It is not a competitor to Gin, Echo, Fiber, or Buffalo. (However, a GTB-bootstrapped CLI tool could easily embed a web server as one of its subcommands).
• NOT a microservice scaffold. It does not generate gRPC boilerplate like Sponge or Go-Blueprint.
• NOT just a command router. Unlike Cobra (a library for routing commands), GTB is an opinionated framework providing the entire application lifecycle around the router.
• NOT a TUI component library. It is not a replacement for Bubble Tea. It uses those libraries under the hood, wrapping them in a managed lifecycle.

🚀 Key Advantages & "Wow" Factors¶

1. Integrated AI Assistant (docs ask)
   Your tool ships with a built-in expert. Users ask questions in natural language, and the AI answers using only your embedded docs, zero hallucination by design.
2. Autonomous Tool Calling (Agentic Workflows)
   The AI can call local Go functions, inspect state, and iterate. This allows for true ReAct-style agent loops, not just text generation.
3. Built-in Lifecycle Management
   Version checking via GitHub/GitLab, auto-updates (update), and environment bootstrapping (init) are zero-config.
4. Rich TUI Documentation
   Interactive, searchable, Markdown-rendered documentation directly in the terminal, no browser needed.
5. Model Context Protocol (MCP)
   Expose your tool's capabilities to external AI agents out-of-the-box. Your CLI becomes an AI-native building block.
6. Zero Lock-in (The "Eject Path")
   GTB generates idiomatic, standard-library-compliant Go code. If you outgrow the framework, the generated code stands on its own.
7. Architectural Consistency at Scale
   In enterprises running dozens of internal tools, GTB enforces a standardised layout, eliminating per-team architectural debates.
8. Convention over Configuration
   Sensible defaults, a standard project structure, and predictable DI. A massive productivity multiplier for teams migrating from Laravel, Rails, or Django.

🔄 CLI-First, Not CLI-Only¶

While GTB is designed around a CLI interface, its architecture is application-agnostic.

Start with a CLI. Grow into whatever you need: