argparse - parse options passed to a fish script or function — fish-shell 4.0.2 documentation

# argparse - parse options passed to a fish script or function

## Synopsis

    argparse [OPTIONS] OPTION_SPEC ... -- [ARG ...]

## Description

This command makes it easy for fish scripts and functions to handle arguments. You pass arguments that define the known options, followed by a literal --, then the arguments to be parsed (which might also include a literal --). `argparse` then sets variables to indicate the passed options with their values, and sets `$argv` to the remaining arguments. See the usage section below.

Each option specification (`OPTION_SPEC`) is written in the domain specific language described below. All OPTION_SPECs must appear after any argparse flags and before the `--` that separates them from the arguments to be parsed.

Each option that is seen in the ARG list will result in variables named `_flag_X`, where X is the short flag letter and the long flag name (if they are defined). For example a --help option could cause argparse to define one variable called `_flag_h` and another called `_flag_help`.

The variables will be set with local scope (i.e., as if the script had done `set -l _flag_X`). If the flag is a boolean (that is, it just is passed or not, it doesn’t have a value) the values are the short and long flags seen. If the option is not a boolean the values will be zero or more values corresponding to the values collected when the ARG list is processed. If the flag was not seen the flag variable will not be set.

## Options

The following `argparse` options are available. They must appear before all OPTION_SPECs:

-n or --name

  The command name for use in error messages. By default the current function name will be used, or `argparse` if run outside of a function.

-x or --exclusive OPTIONS

  A comma separated list of options that are mutually exclusive. You can use this more than once to define multiple sets of mutually exclusive options. You give either the short or long version of each option, and you still need to otherwise define the options.

-N or --min-args NUMBER

  The minimum number of acceptable non-option arguments. The default is zero.

-X or --max-args NUMBER

  The maximum number of acceptable non-option arguments. The default is infinity.

-i or --ignore-unknown

  Ignores unknown options, keeping them and their arguments in $argv instead.

-s or --stop-nonopt

  Causes scanning the arguments to stop as soon as the first non-option argument is seen. Among other things, this is useful to implement subcommands that have their own options.

-h or --help

  Displays help about using this command.

## Usage

To use this command, pass the option specifications (OPTION_SPEC), a mandatory --, and then the arguments to be parsed.

A simple example:

    argparse 'h/help' 'n/name=' -- $argv
    or return

If `$argv` is empty then there is nothing to parse and `argparse` returns zero to indicate success. If `$argv` is not empty then it is checked for flags `-h`, `--help`, `-n` and `--name`. If they are found they are removed from the arguments and local variables called `_flag_OPTION` are set so the script can determine which options were seen. If `$argv` doesn’t have any errors, like an unknown option or a missing mandatory value for an option, then `argparse` exits with a status of zero. Otherwise it writes appropriate error messages to stderr and exits with a status of one.

The `or return` means that the function returns `argparse`’s status if it failed, so if it goes on `argparse` succeeded.

To use the flags argparse has extracted:

    # Checking for _flag_h and _flag_help is equivalent
    # We check if it has been given at least once
    if set -ql _flag_h
        echo "Usage: my_function [-h | --help] [-n | --name=NAME]" >&2
        return 1
    end

    set -l myname somedefault
    set -ql _flag_name[1]
    and set myname $_flag_name[-1] # here we use the *last* --name=

Any characters in the flag name that are not valid in a variable name (like `-` dashes) will be replaced with underscores.

The `--` argument is required. You do not have to include any option specifications or arguments after the `--` but you must include the `--`. For example, this is acceptable:

    set -l argv foo
    argparse 'h/help' 'n/name' -- $argv
    argparse --min-args=1 -- $argv

But this is not:

    set -l argv
    argparse 'h/help' 'n/name' $argv

The first `--` seen is what allows the `argparse` command to reliably separate the option specifications and options to `argparse` itself (like `--ignore-unknown`) from the command arguments, so it is required.

## Option Specifications

Each option specification consists of:

- An optional alphanumeric short flag character, followed by a `/` if the short flag can be used by someone invoking your command or, for backwards compatibility, a `-` if it should not be exposed as a valid short flag (in which case it will also not be exposed as a flag variable).

- An optional long flag name, which if not present the short flag can be used, and if that is also not present, an error is reported

- Nothing if the flag is a boolean that takes no argument or is an integer flag, or

  > - = if it requires a value and only the last instance of the flag is saved, or

  > - =? if it takes an optional value and only the last instance of the flag is saved, or

  > - =+ if it requires a value and each instance of the flag is saved.

- Optionally a `!` followed by fish script to validate the value. Typically this will be a function to run. If the exit status is zero the value for the flag is valid. If non-zero the value is invalid. Any error messages should be written to stdout (not stderr). See the section on Flag Value Validation for more information.

See the fish_opt command for a friendlier but more verbose way to create option specifications.

If a flag is not seen when parsing the arguments then the corresponding _flag_X var(s) will not be set.

## Integer flag

Sometimes commands take numbers directly as options, like `foo -55`. To allow this one option spec can have the `#` modifier so that any integer will be understood as this flag, and the last number will be given as its value (as if `=` was used).

The `#` must follow the short flag letter (if any), and other modifiers like `=` are not allowed, except for `-` (for backwards compatibility):

    m#maximum

This does not read numbers given as `+NNN`, only those that look like flags - `-NNN`.

## Note: Optional arguments

An option defined with `=?` can take optional arguments. Optional arguments have to be directly attached to the option they belong to.

That means the argument will only be used for the option if you use it like:

    cmd --flag=value
    # or
    cmd  -fvalue

but not if used like:

    cmd --flag value
    # "value" here will be used as a positional argument
    # and "--flag" won't have an argument.

If this weren’t the case, using an option without an optional argument would be difficult if you also wanted to use positional arguments.

For example:

    grep --color auto
    # Here "auto" will be used as the search string,
    # "color" will not have an argument and will fall back to the default,
    # which also *happens to be* auto.
    grep --color always
    # Here grep will still only use color "auto"matically
    # and search for the string "always".

This isn’t specific to argparse but common to all things using `getopt(3)` (if they have optional arguments at all). That `grep` example is how GNU grep actually behaves.

## Flag Value Validation

Sometimes you need to validate the option values. For example, that it is a valid integer within a specific range, or an ip address, or something entirely different. You can always do this after `argparse` returns but you can also request that `argparse` perform the validation by executing arbitrary fish script. To do so simply append an `!` (exclamation-mark) then the fish script to be run. When that code is executed three vars will be defined:

- `_argparse_cmd` will be set to the value of the value of the `argparse --name` value.

- `_flag_name` will be set to the short or long flag that being processed.

- `_flag_value` will be set to the value associated with the flag being processed.

These variables are passed to the function as local exported variables.

The script should write any error messages to stdout, not stderr. It should return a status of zero if the flag value is valid otherwise a non-zero status to indicate it is invalid.

Fish ships with a `_validate_int` function that accepts a `--min` and `--max` flag. Let’s say your command accepts a `-m` or `--max` flag and the minimum allowable value is zero and the maximum is 5. You would define the option like this: `m/max=!_validate_int --min 0 --max 5`. The default if you just call `_validate_int` without those flags is to simply check that the value is a valid integer with no limits on the min or max value allowed.

Here are some examples of flag validations:

    # validate that a path is a directory
    argparse 'p/path=!test -d "$_flag_value"' -- --path $__fish_config_dir
    # validate that a function does not exist
    argparse 'f/func=!not functions -q "$_flag_value"' -- -f alias
    # validate that a string matches a regex
    argparse 'c/color=!string match -rq \'^#?[0-9a-fA-F]{6}$\' "$_flag_value"' -- -c 'c0ffee'
    # validate with a validator function
    argparse 'n/num=!_validate_int --min 0 --max 99' -- --num 42

## Example OPTION_SPECs

Some OPTION_SPEC examples:

- `h/help` means that both `-h` and `--help` are valid. The flag is a boolean and can be used more than once. If either flag is used then `_flag_h` and `_flag_help` will be set to however either flag was seen, as many times as it was seen. So it could be set to `-h`, `-h` and `--help`, and `count $_flag_h` would yield “3”.

- `help` means that only `--help` is valid. The flag is a boolean and can be used more than once. If it is used then `_flag_help` will be set as above. Also `h-help` (with an arbitrary short letter) for backwards compatibility.

- `longonly=` is a flag `--longonly` that requires an option, there is no short flag or even short flag variable.

- `n/name=` means that both `-n` and `--name` are valid. It requires a value and can be used at most once. If the flag is seen then `_flag_n` and `_flag_name` will be set with the single mandatory value associated with the flag.

- `n/name=?` means that both `-n` and `--name` are valid. It accepts an optional value and can be used at most once. If the flag is seen then `_flag_n` and `_flag_name` will be set with the value associated with the flag if one was provided else it will be set with no values.

- `name=+` means that only `--name` is valid. It requires a value and can be used more than once. If the flag is seen then `_flag_name` will be set with the values associated with each occurrence.

- `x` means that only `-x` is valid. It is a boolean that can be used more than once. If it is seen then `_flag_x` will be set as above.

- `x=`, `x=?`, and `x=+` are similar to the n/name examples above but there is no long flag alternative to the short flag `-x`.

- `#max` (or `#-max`) means that flags matching the regex “^--?\d+$” are valid. When seen they are assigned to the variable `_flag_max`. This allows any valid positive or negative integer to be specified by prefixing it with a single “-”. Many commands support this idiom. For example `head -3 /a/file` to emit only the first three lines of /a/file.

- `n#max` means that flags matching the regex “^--?\d+$” are valid. When seen they are assigned to the variables `_flag_n` and `_flag_max`. This allows any valid positive or negative integer to be specified by prefixing it with a single “-”. Many commands support this idiom. For example `head -3 /a/file` to emit only the first three lines of /a/file. You can also specify the value using either flag: `-n NNN` or `--max NNN` in this example.

- `#longonly` causes the last integer option to be stored in `_flag_longonly`.

After parsing the arguments the `argv` variable is set with local scope to any values not already consumed during flag processing. If there are no unbound values the variable is set but `count $argv` will be zero.

If an error occurs during argparse processing it will exit with a non-zero status and print error messages to stderr.

## Examples

A simple use:

    argparse h/help -- $argv
    or return

    if set -q _flag_help
        # TODO: Print help here
        return 0
    end

This just wants one option - `-h` / `--help`. Any other option is an error. If it is given it prints help and exits.

How fish_add_path - add to the path parses its args:

    argparse -x g,U -x P,U -x a,p g/global U/universal P/path p/prepend a/append h/help m/move v/verbose n/dry-run -- $argv

There are a variety of boolean flags, all with long and short versions. A few of these cannot be used together, and that is what the `-x` flag is used for. `-x g,U` means that `--global` and `--universal` or their short equivalents conflict, and if they are used together you get an error. In this case you only need to give the short or long flag, not the full option specification.

After this it figures out which variable it should operate on according to the `--path` flag:

    set -l var fish_user_paths
    set -q _flag_path
    and set var PATH

    # ...

    # Check for --dry-run.
    # The "-" has been replaced with a "_" because
    # it is not valid in a variable name
    not set -ql _flag_dry_run
    and set $var $result

## Limitations

One limitation with --ignore-unknown is that, if an unknown option is given in a group with known options, the entire group will be kept in $argv. `argparse` will not do any permutations here.

For instance:

    argparse --ignore-unknown h -- -ho
    echo $_flag_h # is -h, because -h was given
    echo $argv # is still -ho

This limitation may be lifted in future.

Additionally, it can only parse known options up to the first unknown option in the group - the unknown option could take options, so it isn’t clear what any character after an unknown option means.