diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 0224bbd4..4ba1fd57 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -1,36 +1,23 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
-
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import { createCommand } from './commands/create.js';
-import chalk from 'chalk';
-
-const program = new Command();
-
-program
-  .name('celo-composer')
-  .description('CLI tool for generating customizable Celo blockchain starter kits')
-  .version('1.0.0');
+import getChalk from './utils/getChalk.js';
 
-program
-  .command('create')
-  .description('Create a new Celo project')
-  .argument('[project-name]', 'Name of the project')
-  .option('-d, --description <description>', 'Project description')
-  .option('-t, --template <type>', 'Template type (basic, farcaster-miniapp, minipay, ai-chat)')
-  .option('--wallet-provider <provider>', 'Wallet provider (rainbowkit, thirdweb, none)')
-  .option('-c, --contracts <framework>', 'Smart contract framework (hardhat, foundry, none)')
-  .option('--skip-install', 'Skip package installation')
-  .option('-y, --yes', 'Skip all prompts and use defaults')
-  .action(createCommand);
+(async function main() {
+  const chalk = await getChalk();
+  
+  const program = new Command();
 
-program.on('command:*', () => {
-  console.error(chalk.red(`Invalid command: ${program.args.join(' ')}`));
-  console.log(chalk.yellow('See --help for a list of available commands.'));
-  process.exit(1);
-});
+  program
+    .name('celo-composer')
+    .description('CLI tool for generating customizable Celo blockchain starter kits')
+    .version('1.0.0');
 
-if (process.argv.length === 2) {
-  program.help();
-}
+  program.on('command:*', () => {
+    console.error(chalk.red('Invalid command: ' + program.args.join(' ')));
+    console.log(chalk.yellow('See --help for a list of available commands.'));
+    process.exit(1);
+  });
 
-program.parse(process.argv);
+  await program.parseAsync(process.argv);
+})();
diff --git a/src/utils/getChalk.ts b/src/utils/getChalk.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..58b332bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/getChalk.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+// Lightweight dynamic loader for ESM-only 'chalk'.
+// Returns the chalk default export (or a minimal no-op shim if import fails).
+export default async function getChalk(): Promise<any> {
+  try {
+    const mod = await import('chalk');
+    return mod && (mod.default || mod);
+  } catch (err) {
+    // Minimal shim preserving common style functions.
+    const noop = (s: any) => String(s);
+    const base = {
+      bold: noop, dim: noop, red: noop, green: noop, yellow: noop,
+      blue: noop, cyan: noop, magenta: noop, white: noop, gray: noop
+    };
+    return new Proxy(base, {
+      get(target: any, prop: string) {
+        if (prop in target) return target[prop];
+        // allow chalk.green.bold('x') — return function that returns the string
+        return (s: any) => String(s);
+      }
+    });
+  }
+}