Not in Apple's nomenclature, it isn't. An App specifically refers to a folder named ".app" with an info.plist and a binary inside of it. It can also contain a b

Not in Apple's nomenclature, it isn't. An App specifically refers to a folder named ".app" with an info.plist and a binary inside of it. It can also contain a bunch of other metadata and application data. To apple, a "CLI app" as you call it is just the binary (a single file). But the real distinction is that the "Apple App" manages its preferences in-app. The "CLI app" does not, the user is expected to manage this configuration themselves.