CLI prompts in Swift were a joke.
Twenty years watching this valley churn out “innovations,” and here’s Swift — Apple’s shiny toy — stuck with readLine() like it’s 1995. Print a message, slurp input, pray it works. No validation hints, no menus, nada. Promptberry? It’s a library that actually fixes this mess, delivering text fields, dropdowns, even spinners without you reinventing the wheel.
Look, I’ve built enough CLI tools to know: users hate typing blind. That basic loop — print(“Enter name:”), let name = readLine() ?? “” — it’s fine for a one-off script. But ship it as a tool? Users bail. Promptberry’s text prompt changes everything:
let name = try Promptberry.text( “Project name?”, placeholder: “MyApp”, validate: { $0.isEmpty ? “Name cannot be empty.” : nil } )
Validation pops right under the field — no wiping the input. Type junk, error flashes, keep going. Magic? Nah, just competent design borrowed from web forms.
Why Swift’s Stdlib Still Lags on CLIs
But here’s the thing — Swift Package Manager thrives on CLI tools. Code gens, deployers, listers. Yet the language acts like interactivity is optional. Node.js had Inquirer.js a decade ago; Python’s Click nailed it early. Swift? Crickets.
Promptberry plugs that hole with selects for choices. Arrow keys or j/k navigate, Enter picks. Throw allowOther: true, and it morphs into a combo box. Autocomplete for long lists — type “mit,” boom, MIT license floats up. Multiselect for checkboxes, toggling with spacebar. It’s not reinventing readline; it’s making it pro-grade.
Password masking? Swap to password(“secret?”, mask: “•”). Confirmations before nuking stuff: “Create "(name)"?” with Yes/No toggles. Guard confirmed else { cancel and bail }. Clean.
One gripe, though — it’s Swift 5.7+, so if you’re dragging on ancient Xcode, tough luck. But who’s not on 5.9 by now?
Does Promptberry Actually Save Time?
Async tasks next. Sequence ‘em with tasks([PromptTask(“Scaffolding”) { scaffold() }, …]). Each gets a spinner; fail, it reds out, halts. Progress bars for file copies: init with total, advance per step, complete with message. Feels alive, not dead.
Ctrl+C? Throws PromptCancelled. Catch it, outro gracefully. Wrap in do/catch, done. Intro/outro bookend the session — “New Swift Project,” prompts, “Happy coding!” Polished.
Skeptical me asks: is this vaporware? Nah, it’s on GitHub, lightweight, no deps beyond Swift. But who’s bankrolling it? Solo dev, probably. No VC spin, no “revolutionary” BS. That’s refreshing — in a world of $100M CLI frameworks that do less.
My hot take? This echoes Ruby’s HighLine from 2005 — that gem made CLIs fun before everyone forgot terminals could be interactive. Swift devs ignored that lesson; Promptberry revives it. Prediction: package managers like Tuist or SwiftGen adopt it fast. Your next CLI scaffolder? Infinitely friendlier.
Freeform multiline? Editable buffer, Enter for lines, Ctrl+D submits. Perfect for README stubs or configs.
Building a Real Tool with It
Picture a project scaffolder. Grab name, type, features, desc. Confirm. Tasks: scaffold dirs, write Package.swift, deps. Boom, done. No more brittle bash scripts.
Validation’s inline smarts shine — empty name? “Can’t be empty.” Email? Regex check. It’s not bolted-on; it’s baked in.
Downsides? Terminal quirks — some old ones choke on ANSI escapes. Test on iTerm, not just Xcode’s toy console. And it’s throwing-heavy; get comfy with try/await.
Still, for anything beyond toy scripts, it’s a no-brainer. I’ve wasted hours on custom readline wrappers. Promptberry? Drop-in sanity.
Unique angle: while everyone’s hyped on AI codegen, real dev time sinks in tooling. Promptberry frees hours — not by magic, but by ditching boilerplate. Who’s winning? You, the builder. Not some cloud vendor.
Interactive CLIs: Swift’s Missing Link?
Compare to crossterm in Rust or Bubble Tea — Promptberry’s simpler, Swift-native. No learning curve if you’re already in ecosystem.
Install? Swift Package Manager: .package(url: “https://github.com/promptberry/promptberry”), targets: [“Promptberry”]. Async-friendly, too — fits Swift’s concurrency push.
Edge cases? Long options lists — autocomplete saves scrolling hell. Preselects in multiselect. It’s thoughtful.
Cynic’s verdict: Swift CLI scene needed this yesterday. Ignore if you’re print/readLine purist (why?). Otherwise, level up.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Promptberry for Swift?
It’s a library for interactive CLI prompts — text, selects, spinners — fixing stdlib’s gaps.
How do I install Promptberry in my Swift CLI tool?
Add to Package.swift: .package(url: “https://github.com/promptberry/promptberry”), import Promptberry, use try text(), select(), etc.
Does Promptberry handle async tasks in Swift?
Yes — tasks() for sequenced spinners, progress(total:) for bars, all awaitable.
