Webpack CLI encapsulates all code related to CLI handling. It captures options and sends them to webpack compiler. You can also find functionality for initializing a project and migrating between versions. For the time being, it is backwards-compatible with the CLI included in webpack itself.
The migrate feature eases the transition from version 1 to version 2. migrate also allows users to switch to the new version of webpack without having to extensively refactor.
webpack-cli migrate <config>
The init feature allows users to get started with webpack, fast. Through scaffolding, people can create their own configuration in order to faster initialize new projects for various of use cases.
webpack-cli init webpack-addons-<package>