PyArgument

PyArgument is a lightweight Python command-line argument parser with support for aliases, optional values, required arguments, and argument collection.
It is designed for simplicity and direct control over parsing behavior.

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Features

• Long and short flags (e.g., --help, -h)
• Add arguments with multiple aliases
• Supports optional argument with values (optarg=True)
• Required arguments (required=True)
• Handles default values
• Tracks which arguments were provided
• Attribute-based access (parser.input, parser.dir)
• Collects parsed arguments into a list, using (parser.pyargs)

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Installation

Install locally

pip install .

Install via PIP

pip install pyargument

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Usage

Example 1: Basic usage

from pyargument import PyArgument
import json
import os

pwd = os.getcwd()
parser = PyArgument()
parser.add_arg("--online")
parser.add_arg("--input", "-in", optarg=True, required=True)
parser.add_arg("--dir", "--folder", optarg=True, default=pwd)
parser.add_arg("--file", optarg=True)
parser.add_arg("--pwd", "-p", "--cwd", required=True)

parser.parse_args()

print("Collected args:", parser.pyargs)
print("Arguments metadata:", json.dumps(parser.list_all(), indent=4))
print("Arguments provided:", parser.list_args())
print("Arguments alias:", json.dumps(parser.list_alias(), indent=4))
print("online:", parser.online)
print("input:", parser.input)
print("dir:", parser.dir, "is exists:", parser.dir.exists, "metadata:", parser.dir.meta)
print("file:", parser.file.value)
parser.file.value = "new_value.txt"
print("file:", parser.file.value) # argument value changed!

Run from command line:

python -m pyargument --input data.txt --pwd /home/user --dir /tmp

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Example 2: Aliases

parser.add_arg("--help", "-h", "-?")
parser.parse_args()
print(parser.help)  # True if any alias is used

• All aliases (--help, -h, -?) map to the same internal argument.
• Access via the main argument name (help).

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Methods

Defining Arguments

add_arg(*names, optarg=False, default=None, required=True)

Parameters:

• names: One or more argument names
• optarg: Accepts a value if True
• default: Default value if not provided
• required: Program exits if missing

Example:

parser.add_arg("--input", "-in", optarg=True, required=True)
parser.add_arg("--online")

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Supported Argument Formats

--flag
--key value
--key=value
-key value

Examples:

python app.py --input file.txt --pwd /home/user  
python app.py --input=file.txt -p /home/user  

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Accessing Parsed Values

Each argument is available as an attribute:

parser.input  
parser.dir  
parser.file  
parser.pwd  
parser.online  

Boolean flags return True when present.

Provider Object

Each argument is a Provider (class) instance. It behaves like its value:

str(parser.input)
int(parser.count)
bool(parser.online)

But also exposes metadata:

parser.input.value
parser.input.exists
parser.input.required
parser.input.optarg
parser.input.names

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Required Arguments

If a required argument is missing, execution stops:

Required argument ('--input', '-in') not provided.

Exit code: 1

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parse_args(*args)

• Parses command-line arguments (sys.argv[1:]).
• Updates attributes of the parser object.

Inspecting Arguments

list_meta()

• Returns a dictionary of all defined arguments metadata.

list_args()

• Returns a list of arguments that were provided in the command line.

list_alias()

• Returns a dictionary mapping each internal argument to all its aliases.

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Raw Parsed Arguments (pyargs)

• parser.pyargs

pyargs stores a simplified list of parsed arguments. Useful for forwarding arguments to another command.

Example output:

['input', 'file.txt', 'pwd', '/home/user']

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Design Philosophy

• Minimal
• Explicit
• Hackable
• No magic
• Object-oriented
• Easy to understand

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License

MIT License

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Repository

https://github.com/ankushbhagats/pyargument