# CLI11 vs Cobra

| Attribute | CLI11 | Cobra |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 52.1 (14% (low)) | 47.1 (24% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 45 | 0 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1 | 109,476 |
| adoption.github_stars | 4,424 | 44,513 |
| deployment.options | - | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | CLI11 is a C++ library for building command-line tools. It offers an intuitive API for defining command options, subcommands, and configuration files with no external dependencies beyond C++11, and is tested across Linux, macOS, and Windows. | An open-source CLI framework that enables developers to build production-grade command-line applications with sophisticated command architecture, intelligent flag parsing, and enterprise features built-in. Battle-tested by over 173,000 projects including Kubernetes, Docker, and GitHub CLI. |
| language.primary | C++ | Go |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://cliutils.github.io/CLI11/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-18T12:55:28.057Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://cobra.dev","retrievedAt":"2026-08-18T12:52:23.169Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | 86 | 112 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.7.2","date":"2026-08-02T14:12:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.7.1","date":"2026-07-31T14:21:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.7.0","date":"2026-07-30T22:06:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.6.2","date":"2026-02-26T14:44:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.6.1","date":"2025-10-27T13:19:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.6.0","date":"2025-10-20T13:10:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.5.0","date":"2025-02-27T12:29:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.4.2","date":"2024-05-04T04:56:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.4.1","date":"2024-02-08T03:17:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.4.0","date":"2024-02-05T04:07:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.3.2","date":"2023-01-04T04:09:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.3.1","date":"2022-11-01T03:57:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.3.0","date":"2022-10-06T04:23:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.2.0","date":"2022-03-27T03:47:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.1.2","date":"2021-10-18T14:15:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.1.1","date":"2021-09-29T13:05:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.1.0","date":"2021-09-20T20:11:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v2.0.0","date":"2021-07-14T15:39:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v1.9.1","date":"2020-06-20T14:34:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.9.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11/releases/tag/v1.9.0","date":"2020-01-19T23:03:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.9.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.10.2","date":"2025-12-04T00:07:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.10.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.10.1","date":"2025-09-01T16:32:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.10.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.10.0","date":"2025-09-01T13:39:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.9.1","date":"2025-02-16T23:54:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.9.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.9.0","date":"2025-02-15T18:28:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.8.1","date":"2024-06-14T20:55:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.8.0","date":"2023-11-04T21:06:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.7.0","date":"2023-04-04T14:43:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.6.1","date":"2022-10-24T23:03:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.6.0","date":"2022-10-11T15:37:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.5.0","date":"2022-06-21T02:37:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.4.0","date":"2022-03-10T15:57:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.3.0","date":"2021-12-14T19:05:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.2.1","date":"2021-07-02T15:28:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.2.0","date":"2021-07-01T17:41:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.1.3","date":"2021-02-10T19:42:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.1.2","date":"2021-02-10T01:41:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.1.1","date":"2020-10-18T19:13:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.1.0","date":"2020-10-14T16:44:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spf13/cobra/releases/tag/v1.0.0","date":"2020-04-10T20:15:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.0.0"}]` |
| security.scorecard | - | 6.2 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=conda&package_name=cli11&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fspf13%2Fcobra&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (CLI Frameworks)

| Capability | CLI11 | Cobra |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Language | - | - |
| Design style | - | - |
| Nested subcommands | - | - |
| Auto generated help | - | - |
| Plugin system | - | - |
| Interactive prompts | - | - |
| Type validation | - | - |
| Styled rich output | - | - |
| Project scaffolding | - | - |
| Test harness | - | - |
| Open source | - | - |
| License | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:47:30.268Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*