0354 — The CLI is a nested Go module, resolved locally through a gitignored go.work

Context. cmd/vulkan builds on cobra + fang, with glyphs via lipgloss v2, while the library module keeps its dependency set minimal. A shared module would put CLI dependencies into every library consumer’s module graph even though the CLI code is never compiled into their binaries. Dated approximately; built across July 2026.

Decision. cmd/vulkan has its own go.mod (.../cmd/vulkan). A directory with its own go.mod is a separate module, excluded from the parent’s package graph entirely, so go get github.com/agentstax/vulkan pulls zero CLI dependencies into a consumer’s go.sum. Local development resolves both modules through a go.work that is gitignored.

Consequences. This is stronger than “the CLI is not compiled in” — unimported packages never ship either way; what the split removes is module-graph and go.sum pollution: no transitive cobra version constraints leaking into a consumer’s build, no CLI supply-chain surface. Costs: the CLI versions and releases independently, and local dev needs the workspace file. Rejected: committing go.work — it would force the workspace on every consumer and CI checkout. Rejected: a replace directive — it breaks go install ...@version for everyone once published.