๐งฐ A zero trust swiss army knife for working with X509, OAuth, JWT, OATH OTP, etc.
โก Executive Summary & Quick Facts
Authoritative Sourcecli is cli is an open-source project written in Go: ๐งฐ A zero trust swiss army knife for working with X509, OAuth, JWT, OATH OTP, etc..
“According to real-time open source telemetry recorded on GitHubRepo.cloud (as of October 2026), smallstep/cli has accumulated 4,354 GitHub stars and 324 forks. It is written in Go, licensed under Apache-2.0, and ranks #2,838 globally. It is actively maintained with the latest commit recorded on Oct 20, 2026.”
| Repository | smallstep/cli โ |
|---|---|
| Primary Category | certificate |
| Language & Stack | Go |
| Software License | Apache-2.0 |
| Community Traction | โ 4.4K stars ยท โ 324 forks ยท #2,838 globally |
| Maintenance | โ Active (Last commit: Oct 20, 2026) ยท 199 open issues |
| Target Audience | Developers and engineering teams building with Go, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads. |
๐ก๏ธ Repository Maintenance & Health Audit (2026)
Health Score: 97/100 ยท Grade A+Yes, cli is actively maintained. Continuous telemetry recorded the last code commit on Oct 20, 2026 (10 days ago). Supported by 4,354 stars and 324 community forks, this repository holds a calculated health index of 97/100, reflecting very active (commits within last 14 days) and healthy issue cadence.
Star History
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[](https://githubrepo.cloud/repo/smallstep/cli?utm_source=readme_chart)Compact badges for your README header. Real-time stars, velocity, health audit, and rank.
[](https://githubrepo.cloud/repo/smallstep/cli?utm_source=readme_badge) [](https://githubrepo.cloud/repo/smallstep/cli?utm_source=readme_badge) [](https://githubrepo.cloud/repo/smallstep/cli?utm_source=readme_badge) [](https://githubrepo.cloud/repo/smallstep/cli?utm_source=readme_badge) [](https://githubrepo.cloud/repo/smallstep/cli?utm_source=readme_badge)Momentum
+109
STARS ยท LAST 30 DAYS
4
PER DAY
#392
MOST-STARRED Go
| Window | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars gained | +0 | +109 | +360 |
| Per day | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Forks gained | +0 | +6 | +16 |
cli gained 109 stars in the last 30 days, about 4 a day, and now has 4.4K. It is about 8 years old and has averaged roughly 544 stars a year. It ranks #392 among Go repositories and #2,838 across all languages on GitHubRepo.
Trending Record
8
DAYS ON TRENDING
#6317
BEST RANK
Oct 21, 2026
FIRST APPEARANCE
Active
STATUS TODAY
cli has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #6317. Below is the 30-day activity profile:
๐ก Overview
cli is an open-source project written in Go: ๐งฐ A zero trust swiss army knife for working with X509, OAuth, JWT, OATH OTP, etc.
Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in certificate, cryptography, encryption. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.
โก Key Features
Optimized execution pipeline written in Go for predictable speed.
Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.
Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.
Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.
Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.
๐ฅ Installation
$ go install github.com/smallstep/cli@latestโ System Requirements
Platforms
- โข macOS
- โข Linux
- โข Windows
Runtime & Dependencies
Go >= 1.21 runtime environment
Architecture
x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)
๐ง How It Works
cli coordinates its core functionality through a modular Go pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.
๐ฏ Production Use Cases
Command-Line Automation
Execute automated build, deployment, and maintenance tasks directly from the terminal.
CI/CD Workflow Integration
Run non-interactive validation checks in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or local pre-commit hooks.
Developer Environment Setup
Standardize local engineering workstations with single-binary utility commands.
Scripting & Pipeline Orchestration
Chain complex multi-stage scripts with reliable error reporting and exits.
๐ Getting Started
Install cli using your package manager: `go install github.com/smallstep/cli@latest`
Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for cli.
Import cli into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.
Execute your test suite or run `cli --help` to verify successful setup.
๐ Strengths
โ ๏ธ Considerations
โ Alternatives & Direct Competitors
๐ฅ Who Should Use This
Developers and engineering teams building with Go, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.
๐ Nearby in the Rankings
smallstep/cli is currently ranked #2,838 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:
| Rank | Repository | Language | Stars | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2,833 | dankogai/js-base64 | JavaScript | โ 4.4K | Compare โ |
| #2,834 | mongodb/mongo-python-driver | Python | โ 4.4K | Compare โ |
| #2,834 | yuzutech/kroki | JavaScript | โ 4.4K | Compare โ |
| #2,836 | obsproject/obs-websocket | C++ | โ 4.4K | Compare โ |
| #2,837 | GAM-team/GAM | Python | โ 4.4K | Compare โ |
| #2,838 | smallstep/cli This Project | Go | โ 4.4K | |
| #2,839 | JonathanSalwan/Triton | C++ | โ 4.3K | Compare โ |
| #2,840 | phpDocumentor/phpDocumentor | PHP | โ 4.3K | Compare โ |
| #2,840 | mdaines/viz-js | JavaScript | โ 4.3K | Compare โ |
| #2,842 | jMonkeyEngine/jmonkeyengine | Java | โ 4.3K | Compare โ |
| #2,843 | kubernetes-sigs/aws-load-balancer-controller | Go | โ 4.3K | Compare โ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does cli do? +
๐งฐ A zero trust swiss army knife for working with X509, OAuth, JWT, OATH OTP, etc.
Is cli actively maintained in 2026? +
Yes, cli is actively maintained. The latest code push was recorded on Oct 20, 2026 (10 days ago). It holds a calculated Maintenance Health Score of 97/100 (A+ rating) with 4,354 stars and 199 open issues.
What language is cli written in? +
The primary language is Go. Topics include: certificate, cryptography, encryption, jose, jwe.
How many stars does cli have? +
cli has 4,354 stars and 324 forks on GitHub.
How does cli rank among GitHub repositories? +
With 4,354 stars, smallstep/cli is ranked #2,838 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #392 among Go projects.
What license is cli distributed under? +
The repository reports a Apache-2.0 license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.
