Building a Decision-Making CLI Tool in Rust: "should-i"

[Sascha]

Introduction


"What should I have for lunch?" "Should I try this new library?" From daily small decisions to technical choices, we face countless decisions every day. Why not let the universe decide for you?

I built a CLI tool called "should-i" that helps you make decisions by consulting the

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. In this article, I'll share the implementation details and technical insights.

What is should-i?


should-i is a simple CLI tool that answers your questions with YES/NO/MAYBE. It also returns a GIF image URL, making the experience more engaging and visual.

Basic Usage

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Browser GIF Display with --open Option


With the --open option, the tool automatically opens the response GIF in your browser:


$ should-i "take a coffee break" --open
Asking the universe...
YES! Do it!

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# Browser opens with the GIF automatically



Tech Stack


This project uses the following Rust crates:

• reqwest: HTTP client
• tokio: Async runtime
• serde/serde_json: JSON serialization/deserialization
• clap: CLI argument parser
• anyhow: Error handling
• webbrowser: Browser opening functionality

Implementation Highlights

1. API Communication


The yesno.wtf API is a simple RESTful API with responses structured like this:


{
"answer": "yes",
"forced": false,
"image": "

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"
}




We map this to a Rust struct:


#[derive(Deserialize)]
struct NoResponse {
answer: String,
image: String,
}




Making async HTTP requests with reqwest is simple and type-safe:


let response = client
.get("

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")
.send()
.await?
.json::()
.await?;



2. CLI Interface Design


Using clap makes implementing an intuitive CLI straightforward. The derive macro approach is very Rust-like, automatically generating a parser from struct definitions:


#[derive(Parser)]
#[command(name = "should-i")]
#[command(about = "A CLI tool to help you make decisions")]
struct Cli {
/// The question you want to ask
question: String,

/// Open the GIF image in your browser
#[arg(short, long)]
open: bool,
}



3. Enhancing User Experience


Rather than just displaying results, I used emojis to make the output visually clear and engaging:


match response.answer.as_str() {
"yes" => println!(" YES! Do it! "),
"no" => println!(" NO! Don't do it! "),
"maybe" => println!(" MAYBE... You decide! "),
_ => println!(" Unknown response"),
}




The --open option automatically opens the GIF in your browser:


if cli.open {
if let Err(e) = webbrowser::open(&response.image) {
eprintln!(" Failed to open browser: {}", e);
}
}




This feature lets you visually enjoy the universe's message, which is one of the tool's charms.

Error Handling


Leveraging Rust's powerful type system, I implemented proper error handling using the anyhow crate:


async fn fetch_decision() -> anyhow::Result {
let client = reqwest::Client::new();
let response = client
.get("

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")
.send()
.await
.context("Failed to connect to yesno.wtf API")?
.json::()
.await
.context("Failed to parse API response")?;

Ok(response)
}




The context() method provides specific context when errors occur.

Project Structure


should-i/
├── Cargo.toml # Dependencies and metadata
├── src/
│ └── main.rs # Main implementation
├── LICENSE-MIT
├── LICENSE-APACHE
└── README.md




As a simple tool, everything is contained in a single file. For larger projects, consider splitting into modules.

Installation

Using Cargo


cargo install should-i



Using Homebrew


brew tap Justhiro55/tap
brew install should-i



From Source


git clone

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cd should-i
cargo install --path .



Conclusion


should-i is simple, but it contains fundamental elements of Rust CLI development:

• Async HTTP communication
• JSON parsing
• CLI argument handling
• Error handling
• Cross-platform support

The playful concept of "letting the universe decide" made implementing practical Rust techniques enjoyable.

When in doubt, just ask should-i!


$ should-i "write more Rust code"
Asking the universe...
YES! Do it!



Links

Источник:

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