January 16, 2026
Docs or it didn’t build
Cue Does It All, but Can It Literate?
Commenters split: genius doc tool or config chaos
TLDR: The post claims CUE can sync code and docs so mistakes can’t slip through, like a build that fails when facts are wrong. Commenters push back, demanding a link, real-world examples without shell scripts, and clarity on whether this is true “literate programming” or just complex config wrangling.
The article pitches CUE—a tool for generating and validating files—as a surprise star for “literate programming,” meaning your docs and code stay in lockstep. But the crowd immediately turned this into a comment circus. First: “where’s the link?” One reader begged for a simple pointer to cuelang.org, setting the tone: if you want converts, start with basics.
Then came the identity crisis. Is this actually “literate programming,” or fancy glue for configs? A skeptical voice dropped an “ELI5” (“Explain Like I’m Five”) and pointed to the Wikipedia definition, arguing CUE feels like the opposite—more typed data puzzle than storytelling tool. Another commenter said they’d tried CUE as a config format and found it too complex compared to TOML or YAML, the usual kitchen staples.
The practical crowd brought heat: can CUE really run a full build-and-deploy flow without shell scripts? One asked if real teams have CI/CD (automated build/deploy pipelines) that are “just cue cmd” and portable. Meanwhile, someone bailed at the author’s Lego metaphor, calling out “llmisms” (marketing-ish hype) and tapping out. The memes? “Swiss Army knife vs golden cage,” plus jokes about docs that refuse to build until your facts are correct. The vibe: bold promise, proof demanded.
Key Points
- •The article argues CUE can serve as an effective literate programming tool by generating documentation from validated code and configuration.
- •It contrasts CUE’s portability with org-mode’s dependence on the Emacs ecosystem, highlighting editor lock-in concerns.
- •CUE can define parts and stitch them together programmatically, ensuring documentation snippets match source code.
- •Using tool/file and tool/exec, CUE builds documents through a dependency graph, failing the build if dependencies are invalid.
- •Executing these declarative configurations requires cue cmd, as simple evaluation does not perform state-changing operations.