pycli_tools 1.3.3

A python module to help create predictable command line tools

pycli_tools
===========

A python module to help create predictable command line tools

`pycli_tools` is a python module that wraps the `ArgumentParser` class from the
build-in `argparse` module. If you use it in your command line scripts you will
get some defaults options added to your application such as `--verbose` and
`--quiet` to control the verbosity of your application (using the python logging
module). Also there is the `--config` option that gives you the ability to read
command line arguments from a configuration file to save users of your
application a lot of typing.

Copyright (c) 2013 Nico Di Rocco.
License: MIT (see LICENSE for details)


installation
------------

Install from pip

$ pip install pycli_tools

Or clone this git repository to get the latest version and install using
setuptools or distribute.

$ python setup.py install


usage
-----

Use the `get_argparser` helper function instead of creating your own
ArgumentParser instance like you're used to. Save the following snippet as a
file `myapp.py`

$ cat myapp.py
from pycli_tools import get_argparser
parser = get_argparser(prog='myapp', version='1.0',
default_config='~/.myapprc')
parser.add_argument('action')
args = parser.parse_args()


Try it out for yourself. You will get some default command line options
without doing anything

$ python myapp.py -h
usage: myapp [-h] [-c CONFIG_FILE] [-v] [-q] [-V] action

positional arguments:
action

optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-c CONFIG_FILE, --config CONFIG_FILE
path to the config file
-v, --verbose output more verbose
-q, --quiet surpress all output
-V, --version show program's version number and exit


The `-c` or `--config` option by default uses the configuration file that you
passed to the `get_argparser` helper function. Defaults are read from that
file from the section with the same name as the `prog` variable. In the above
case `myapp`:

$ cat ~/.myapprc
[myapp]
verbose = 10


Now you don't have to pass `-vvv` as a command line option to enable verbose
otuput.