Binary Size

Go removes unreachable code during compilation, so the first step is to measure the binary you ship instead of assuming a specific feature is expensive.

go build -trimpath -o myapp ./cmd/myapp
ls -lh myapp

For a release-style build, combine reproducible paths with stripped symbol and debug information:

go build -trimpath -ldflags="-s -w" -o myapp ./cmd/myapp
ls -lh myapp

Use the Go toolchain to inspect what is in the binary:

go version -m myapp
go tool nm -size myapp | sort -nr | head -40

Practical Checks

• Run make check-binary-size in this repository to compare the current package contribution against the tracked binary-size budget.
• Build with -trimpath for reproducible paths.
• Use -ldflags="-s -w" for release builds when debug symbols are not needed.
• Keep optional integrations in separate packages when they bring large dependencies.
• Avoid adding reflection-heavy dependencies to the main command package unless they are required at runtime.
• Compare sizes from clean builds after each change.

If a specific urfave/cli feature appears to keep unexpected code reachable, open an issue with the Go version, build command, a minimal reproduction, and the go tool nm -size output that shows the largest symbols.

Current v3 Build Tags

The v3 module does not currently define build tags such as urfave_cli_no_docs, urfave_cli_no_completion, or urfave_cli_minimal. Documentation generation lives outside the core module in urfave/cli-docs, so applications that only import github.com/urfave/cli/v3 do not pull in that package.

Shell completion support is part of the core package. Leave EnableShellCompletion disabled unless the application needs shell completion, then measure the result with the commands above.