issue-5446-cli-help-enhancements

Update init.go

Author: cmallikarjunah

internal/cli/alpha/generate.go

@@ -43,20 +43,27 @@ func NewScaffoldCommand() *cobra.Command {
 	scaffoldCmd := &cobra.Command{
 		Use:   "generate",
 		Short: "Re-scaffold a Kubebuilder project from its PROJECT file",
-		Long: `The 'generate' command re-creates a Kubebuilder project scaffold based on the configuration 
-defined in the PROJECT file, using the latest installed Kubebuilder version and plugins.
+		Long: `Re-generate a Kubebuilder project scaffold based on the PROJECT file configuration.
 
-This is helpful for migrating projects to a newer Kubebuilder layout or plugin version (e.g., v3 to v4)
-as update your project from any previous version to the current one.
+This command uses the latest installed Kubebuilder version and plugins to regenerate
+the entire project structure. 
 
-If no output directory is provided, the current working directory will be cleaned (except .git and PROJECT).`,
+This is helpful for migrating projects to newer Kubebuilder 
+layouts or plugin version (e.g., v3 to v4)
+
+This command deletes all files except .git/ and PROJECT before regenerating in-place when 
+--output-dir is not specified.
+
+The PROJECT file must exist and contain valid plugin configuration.`,
 		Example: `
-  # **WARNING**(will delete all files to allow the re-scaffold except .git and PROJECT)
-  # Re-scaffold the project in-place 
+  # Re-scaffold in-place (WARNING: deletes all files except .git and PROJECT)
   kubebuilder alpha generate
 
-  # Re-scaffold the project from ./test into ./my-output
-  kubebuilder alpha generate --input-dir="./path/to/project" --output-dir="./my-output"
+  # Re-scaffold to a different directory (safe, preserves original)
+  kubebuilder alpha generate --output-dir="./regenerated"
+
+  # Re-scaffold from a specific project directory to a different directory
+  kubebuilder alpha generate --input-dir="./my-project" --output-dir="./my-project-v4"
 `,
 		PreRunE: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 			return opts.Validate()
@@ -70,13 +77,12 @@ If no output directory is provided, the current working directory will be cleane
 	}
 
 	scaffoldCmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.InputDir, "input-dir", "",
-		"Path to the directory containing the PROJECT file. "+
-			"Defaults to the current working directory. WARNING: delete existing files (except .git and PROJECT).")
+		"path to directory containing the PROJECT file (default: current directory). "+
+			"WARNING: if --output-dir is not set, all files except .git/ and PROJECT will be deleted")
 
 	scaffoldCmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.OutputDir, "output-dir", "",
-		"Directory where the new project scaffold will be written. "+
-			"If unset, re-scaffolding occurs in-place "+
-			"and will delete existing files (except .git and PROJECT).")
+		"path to directory where regenerated scaffold will be written. "+
+			"If not set, regenerates in-place and deletes existing files (except .git/ and PROJECT)")
 
 	return scaffoldCmd
 }

internal/cli/alpha/update.go

@@ -145,38 +145,39 @@ Defaults:
 	}
 
 	updateCmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.FromVersion, "from-version", "",
-		"binary release version to upgrade from. Should match the version used to init the project and be "+
-			"a valid release version, e.g., v4.6.0. If not set, it defaults to the version specified in the PROJECT file.")
+		"Kubebuilder version to upgrade from (e.g., v4.6.0). Should match version used to initialize project "+
+			"If not set, uses version from PROJECT file")
 	updateCmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.ToVersion, "to-version", "",
-		"binary release version to upgrade to. Should be a valid release version, e.g., v4.7.0. "+
-			"If not set, it defaults to the latest release version available in the project repository.")
+		"Kubebuilder version to upgrade to (e.g., v4.7.0). "+
+			"If not set, uses latest version available in the project repository")
 	updateCmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.FromBranch, "from-branch", "",
-		"Git branch to use as current state of the project for the update.")
+		"Git branch containing current project state (default: main)")
 	updateCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.Force, "force", false,
-		"Force the update even if conflicts occur. Conflicted files will include conflict markers, and a "+
-			"commit will be created automatically. Ideal for automation (e.g., cronjobs, CI).")
+		"if true, commit even with conflicts (adds conflict markers). "+
+			"Ideal for automation (CI/CD pipelines, cronjobs)")
 	updateCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.ShowCommits, "show-commits", false,
-		"If set, the update will keep the full history instead of squashing into a single commit.")
+		"if true, keep full commit history instead of squashing. "+
+			"Cannot be used with --restore-path")
 	updateCmd.Flags().StringArrayVar(&opts.RestorePath, "restore-path", nil,
-		"Paths to preserve from the base branch (repeatable). Not supported with --show-commits.")
+		"paths to preserve from base branch (repeatable, e.g., --restore-path .github/workflows). "+
+			"Cannot be used with --show-commits")
 	updateCmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.OutputBranch, "output-branch", "",
 		"Override the default output branch name (default: kubebuilder-update-from-<from-version>-to-<to-version>).")
 	updateCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.Push, "push", false,
-		"Push the output branch to the remote repository after the update.")
+		"if true, push output branch to origin after update")
 	updateCmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.CommitMessage, "merge-message", "",
-		"Custom commit message for successful merges (no conflicts). "+
-			"Defaults to 'chore(kubebuilder): update scaffold <from> -> <to>'.")
+		"custom commit message for clean merges (no conflicts)"+
+			"(default: 'chore(kubebuilder): update scaffold <from> -> <to>')")
 	updateCmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.CommitMessageConflict, "conflict-message", "",
-		"Custom commit message for merges with conflicts. "+
-			"Defaults to 'chore(kubebuilder): (:warning: manual conflict resolution required) update scaffold <from> -> <to>'.")
+		"custom commit message for merges with conflicts. "+
+			"(default: 'chore(kubebuilder): (:warning: manual conflict resolution required) update scaffold <from> -> <to>')")
 	updateCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.OpenGhIssue, "open-gh-issue", false,
-		"Create a GitHub issue with a pre-filled checklist and compare link after the update completes (requires `gh`).")
+		"if true, create GitHub issue with a pre-filled checklist and compare link (requires gh CLI)")
 	updateCmd.Flags().BoolVar(
 		&opts.UseGhModels,
 		"use-gh-models",
 		false,
-		"Generate and post an AI summary comment to the GitHub Issue using `gh models run`. "+
-			"Requires --open-gh-issue and GitHub CLI (`gh`) with the `gh-models` extension.")
+		"if true, add AI-generated summary comment to GitHub issue (requires --open-gh-issue and gh CLI with gh-models extension)")
 	updateCmd.Flags().StringArrayVar(
 		&gitCfg,
 		"git-config",

pkg/cli/root.go

@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ func (c CLI) newRootCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringSlice(pluginsFlag, nil, "plugin keys to be used for this subcommand execution")
 
 	// Register --project-version on the root command so that it shows up in help.
-	cmd.Flags().String(projectVersionFlag, c.defaultProjectVersion.String(), "project version")
+	cmd.Flags().String(projectVersionFlag, c.defaultProjectVersion.String(), "project version to scaffold (default: latest stable)")
 
 	// As the root command will be used to shot the help message under some error conditions,
 	// like during plugin resolving, we need to allow unknown flags to prevent parsing errors.

pkg/plugins/golang/v4/api.go

@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ make generate will be run.
   %[1]s create api --group ship --version v1beta1 --kind Frigate
 
   # Edit the API Scheme
-
   nano api/v1beta1/frigate_types.go
 
   # Edit the Controller
@@ -91,34 +90,35 @@ make generate will be run.
 }
 
 func (p *createAPISubcommand) BindFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
-	fs.BoolVar(&p.runMake, "make", true, "if true, run `make generate` after generating files")
+	fs.BoolVar(&p.runMake, "make", true, "if true, run `make generate` after scaffolding (default: true)")
 
 	fs.BoolVar(&p.force, "force", false,
-		"attempt to create resource even if it already exists")
+		"if true, attempt to create resource even if it already exists")
 
 	p.options = &goPlugin.Options{}
 
-	fs.StringVar(&p.options.Plural, "plural", "", "resource irregular plural form")
+	fs.StringVar(&p.options.Plural, "plural", "", "specify irregular plural form of the resource (e.g., 'mice' for 'Mouse')")
 
 	fs.BoolVar(&p.options.DoAPI, "resource", true,
-		"if set, generate the resource without prompting the user")
+		"if true, scaffold the API resource types without prompting (default: true)")
 	p.resourceFlag = fs.Lookup("resource")
-	fs.BoolVar(&p.options.Namespaced, "namespaced", true, "resource is namespaced")
+	fs.BoolVar(&p.options.Namespaced, "namespaced", true, "if true, resource is namespace-scoped rather than cluster-scoped (default: true)")
 
 	fs.BoolVar(&p.options.DoController, "controller", true,
-		"if set, generate the controller without prompting the user")
+		"if true, scaffold the controller without prompting (default: true)")
 	p.controllerFlag = fs.Lookup("controller")
 
 	fs.StringVar(&p.options.ExternalAPIPath, "external-api-path", "",
-		"Specify the Go package import path for the external API. This is used to scaffold controllers for resources "+
-			"defined outside this project (e.g., github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/pkg/apis/certmanager/v1).")
+		"specify Go package import path for external API (e.g., github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/pkg/apis/certmanager/v1). "+
+			"Used to scaffold controllers for external types with --resource=false")
 
 	fs.StringVar(&p.options.ExternalAPIDomain, "external-api-domain", "",
-		"Specify the domain name for the external API. This domain is used to generate accurate RBAC "+
-			"markers and permissions for the external resources (e.g., cert-manager.io).")
+		"specify domain for external API (e.g., cert-manager.io). "+
+			"Used to generate accurate RBAC markers for external resources. Requires --external-api-path")
 
 	fs.StringVar(&p.options.ExternalAPIModule, "external-api-module", "",
-		"external API module with optional version (e.g., github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager@v1.18.2)")
+		"external API Go module with optional version (e.g., github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager@v1.18.2). "+
+			"Requires --external-api-path")
 }
 
 func (p *createAPISubcommand) InjectConfig(c config.Config) error {

pkg/plugins/golang/v4/edit.go

@@ -43,57 +43,75 @@ type editSubcommand struct {
 func (p *editSubcommand) UpdateMetadata(cliMeta plugin.CLIMetadata, subcmdMeta *plugin.SubcommandMetadata) {
 	subcmdMeta.Description = `Edit project configuration to enable or disable layout settings.
 
-Multigroup (--multigroup):
-  Enable or disable multi-group layout.
-  Changes API structure: api/<version>/ becomes api/<group>/<version>/
-  Automatic: Updates PROJECT file, future APIs use new structure
-  Manual: Move existing API files, update import paths in controllers
-  More info: https://book.kubebuilder.io/migration/multi-group.html
-
-Namespaced (--namespaced):
-  Enable or disable namespace-scoped deployment.
-  Manager watches one or more specific namespaces vs all namespaces.
-  Namespaces to watch are configured via WATCH_NAMESPACE environment variable.
-  Automatic: Updates PROJECT file, scaffolds Role/RoleBinding, uses --force to regenerate manager.yaml
-  Manual: Add namespace= to RBAC markers in existing controllers, update cmd/main.go, run 'make manifests'
-  More info: https://book.kubebuilder.io/migration/namespace-scoped.html 
-  
-  WARNING - Webhooks and Namespace-Scoped Mode:
-  Webhooks remain cluster-scoped even in namespace-scoped mode.
-  The manager cache is restricted to WATCH_NAMESPACE, but webhooks receive requests
-  from ALL namespaces. You must configure namespaceSelector or objectSelector to align
-  webhook scope with the cache.
-
-Force (--force):
-  Overwrite existing scaffolded files to apply configuration changes.
-  Example: With --namespaced, regenerates config/manager/manager.yaml to add WATCH_NAMESPACE env var.
-  Warning: This overwrites default scaffold files; manual changes in those files may be lost.
+This command modifies the PROJECT file and optionally regenerates scaffolded files.
+Use this to change layout settings or add optional plugins after project initialization.
+
+
+Plugin flags:
+  --plugins: Comma-separated list of plugins to add to the project
+             Plugins are saved to the PROJECT file and used in future operations
+             Run 'kubebuilder edit --plugins --help' to see available plugins
+
+Layout flags:
+  --multigroup: Enable/Disable multigroup layout to organize APIs by group
+                Scaffolds APIs in api/<group>/<version>/ instead of api/<version>/
+                Useful when managing multiple API groups (e.g., batch, apps, crew)
+                Automatic: Updates PROJECT file; future APIs use new structure
+                Manual: Move existing API files, update import paths in controllers
+                More info: https://book.kubebuilder.io/migration/multi-group.html
+
+  --namespaced: Enable/Disable namespace-scoped deployment instead of cluster-scoped
+                Manager watches one or more specific namespaces instead of all namespaces
+                Namespaces to watch are configured via WATCH_NAMESPACE environment variable
+                Uses Role/RoleBinding instead of ClusterRole/ClusterRoleBinding
+                Automatic: Updates PROJECT file, scaffolds Role/RoleBinding
+                Manual: Add namespace= to RBAC markers in controllers, update cmd/main.go, run 'make manifests'
+                More info: https://book.kubebuilder.io/migration/namespace-scoped.html
+                
+                WARNING - Webhooks and Namespace-Scoped Mode:
+                Webhooks remain cluster-scoped even in namespace-scoped mode.
+                The manager cache is restricted to WATCH_NAMESPACE, but webhooks receive requests
+                from ALL namespaces. Configure namespaceSelector or objectSelector to align
+                webhook scope with the cache.
+
+  --force:      Overwrite existing scaffolded files to apply configuration changes
+                Example: With --namespaced, regenerates config/manager/manager.yaml to add WATCH_NAMESPACE
+                Warning: Overwrites default scaffold files; manual changes may be lost
 
 Note: To add optional plugins after initialization, use 'kubebuilder edit --plugins <plugin-name>'.
       Run 'kubebuilder edit --plugins --help' to see available plugins.
 `
 	subcmdMeta.Examples = fmt.Sprintf(`  # Enable multigroup layout
   %[1]s edit --multigroup
 
-  # Enable namespace-scoped permissions
+  # Enable namespace-scoped deployment
   %[1]s edit --namespaced
 
-  # Enable with automatic file regeneration
+  # Enable namespace-scoped with automatic file regeneration
   %[1]s edit --namespaced --force
 
   # Disable multigroup layout
   %[1]s edit --multigroup=false
 
-  # Enable/disable multiple settings
+  # Enable/Disable multiple settings at once
   %[1]s edit --multigroup --namespaced --force
+
+  # Add Helm plugin to existing project
+  %[1]s edit --plugins helm/v2-alpha
+
+  # Add multiple plugins
+  %[1]s edit --plugins grafana/v1-alpha,autoupdate/v1-alpha
 `, cliMeta.CommandName)
 }
 
 func (p *editSubcommand) BindFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	p.fs = fs
-	fs.BoolVar(&p.multigroup, "multigroup", false, "enable or disable multigroup layout")
-	fs.BoolVar(&p.namespaced, "namespaced", false, "enable or disable namespace-scoped deployment")
-	fs.BoolVar(&p.force, "force", false, "overwrite scaffolded files to apply changes (manual edits may be lost)")
+	fs.BoolVar(&p.multigroup, "multigroup", false,
+		"enable or disable multigroup layout (api/<group>/<version>/)")
+	fs.BoolVar(&p.namespaced, "namespaced", false,
+		"enable or disable namespace-scoped deployment (default: cluster-scoped)")
+	fs.BoolVar(&p.force, "force", false,
+		"overwrite scaffolded files to apply configuration changes (manual edits may be lost)")
 }
 
 func (p *editSubcommand) InjectConfig(c config.Config) error {

pkg/plugins/golang/v4/init.go

@@ -64,20 +64,24 @@ type initSubcommand struct {
 func (p *initSubcommand) UpdateMetadata(cliMeta plugin.CLIMetadata, subcmdMeta *plugin.SubcommandMetadata) {
 	p.commandName = cliMeta.CommandName
 
-	subcmdMeta.Description = `Initialize a new project including the following files:
-  - a "go.mod" with project dependencies
-  - a "PROJECT" file that stores project configuration
-  - a "Makefile" with several useful make targets for the project
-  - several YAML files for project deployment under the "config" directory
-  - a "cmd/main.go" file that creates the manager that will run the project controllers
+	subcmdMeta.Description = `Initialize a new project within the current directory. Following files will be generated automatically:
+  - go.mod: Go module with project dependencies
+  - PROJECT: file that stores project configuration
+  - Makefile: provides useful make targets for the project
+  - config/: Kubernetes manifests for deployment
+  - cmd/main.go: controller manager entry point
+  - Dockerfile: build controller manager container image
+  - test/: unit tests for the project
+  - hack/: contains licensing boilerplate.
+
 
 Required flags:
   --domain: Domain for your APIs (e.g., example.org creates crew.example.org for API groups)
 
 Configuration flags:
   --repo: Go module path (e.g., github.com/user/repo); auto-detected if not provided
   --owner: Owner name for copyright license headers
-  --license: License to use (apache2 or none, default: apache2)
+  --license: License to use (apache2 | none; default "apache2")
 
 Plugin flags:
   --plugins: Comma-separated list of plugins to use (default: go/v4)
@@ -120,21 +124,21 @@ Note: Layout settings can be changed later with 'kubebuilder edit'.
 
 func (p *initSubcommand) BindFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.BoolVar(&p.skipGoVersionCheck, "skip-go-version-check",
-		false, "skip Go version check")
+		false, "if true, skip compatibility check of Kubebuilder plugin supported version vs installed Go version (default: false)")
 
 	// dependency args
-	fs.BoolVar(&p.fetchDeps, "fetch-deps", true, "download dependencies after scaffolding")
+	fs.BoolVar(&p.fetchDeps, "fetch-deps", true, "if true, download Go dependencies after scaffolding (default: true)")
 
 	// boilerplate args
 	fs.StringVar(&p.license, "license", "apache2",
-		"license header to use (apache2 or none)")
-	fs.StringVar(&p.owner, "owner", "", "copyright owner for license headers")
+		"license to use for boilerplate headers (apache2 or none)")
+	fs.StringVar(&p.owner, "owner", "", "owner name for copyright license headers")
 
 	// project args
 	fs.StringVar(&p.repo, "repo", "", "Go module name (e.g., github.com/user/repo); "+
 		"auto-detected from current directory if not provided")
 	fs.BoolVar(&p.multigroup, "multigroup", false,
-		"enable multigroup layout (organize APIs by group)")
+		"enable multigroup layout to organize APIs by group (api/<group>/<version>/)")
 	fs.BoolVar(&p.namespaced, "namespaced", false,
 		"enable namespace-scoped deployment (default: cluster-scoped)")
 }