interactive-dispatcher 1.0.4

A customizable interactive CLI menu dispatcher with extendable return signals and matching function calls.

Interactive Dispatcher

interactive-dispatcher is a small Python library for building menu-based CLI flows. It maps user input to one or more actions and returns a signal that your app can route. GitHub: https://github.com/Akhand-Pratap-Tiwari/python-interactive-dispatcher

Install

pip install interactive-dispatcher

Quick Example

from interactive_dispatcher import Action, MenuItem, ReturnSignal, interactive_dispatcher

ReturnSignal.register("RESTART")

def greet(name: str) -> str:
    print(f"Hello, {name}!")
    return f"greeted:{name}"

def exit_program() -> str:
    print("Goodbye!")
    return "exited"

menu = [
    MenuItem(
        keys=["greet", "g"],
        description="Greet Alice",
        actions=[Action(function=greet, args=("Alice",))],
        return_signal=ReturnSignal.CONTINUE,
    ),
    MenuItem(
        keys=["restart", "r"],
        description="Restart flow",
        actions=[],
        return_signal=ReturnSignal.RESTART,
    ),
    MenuItem(
        keys=["exit", "e", "q"],
        description="Exit",
        actions=[Action(function=exit_program)],
        return_signal=ReturnSignal.BREAK,
    ),
]

while True:
    results, signal = interactive_dispatcher("Choose an option:", menu)
    print(results, signal)
    if signal == ReturnSignal.BREAK:
        break

API

• Action: wraps a callable with positional and keyword arguments.
• MenuItem: defines accepted keys, a description, actions, and a return signal.
• ReturnSignal: registry-backed signal objects (CONTINUE, BREAK, PASS, NONE, plus custom signals).
• interactive_dispatcher(...): prints menu, runs selected actions, and returns (results, signal).
• Input matching is exact and case-sensitive ("g" is different from "G").

Why Use It

• Keeps CLI control flow explicit and readable.
• Lets you compose multiple actions per menu option.
• Works well for REPL-like apps, setup wizards, and small automation tools.

Development

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python3 -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
python3 -m build

Open Source

• License: Apache-2.0 (LICENSE)
• Contributing guide: CONTRIBUTING.md

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