It's important to be consistent in how we display content to users of the CLI. These guidelines should guide you when choosing your style of communication with the users.
- Use contractions (ex: can't instead of cannot). It's the easiest way to sound human.
- Use “we” to refer to Shopify. (This "we" framing acts as a trust signal. In the platform context, Shopify and the developer are building value together. We're not slippery; we're not hiding.)
- A full-sentence question (“Have you installed your app on your dev store?”)
- A text prompt with simple noun followed by a colon (“App name:”)
- A list prompt followed by a colon: (“Select extension type:”)
- Progress indicators should take this passive voice formula: “Dependencies installed”; “App initialized”; “App deployed”. In other words: 'noun' 'verb' (past participle).
- Each of the banner elements can support robust messaging with a next steps section and a reference section with links. The prompt components can also be customized with, for example, headings to group selection options.
- For info banners: Use present perfect tense to describe a significan display (“The REST API has been deprecated").
- For error messages: Use the present tense to describe what’s happening in the error message context (“Can’t connect to the Storefront API”)
- More examples in the CLI example page. Run shopify kitchen-sink all