split-command-line 0.1.0a0

A Python library for splitting command-line arguments according to NT (Windows) and POSIX (Unix) rules. Like `shlex.split` but with NT support and without shell features.

split-command-line

A Python library for splitting command-line arguments according to NT (Windows) and POSIX (Unix) rules. Like shlex.split but with NT support and without shell features.

Features

• Two implementations:
  • split_command_line_nt() for NT-style parsing. Mimics MSVCRT's GetCommandLine.
  • split_command_line_posix() for POSIX-style parsing. Behavior closely matches basic POSIX shell parsing but deliberately omits many shell features for safety.
• No shell features (wildcards, expansion, substitution, etc.) - pure parsing only
• Readable, state machine-based implementations
• Python 2 and 3 compatible - works with unicode on both

Installation

pip install split-command-line

Basic Usage

from split_command_line import split_command_line_nt, split_command_line_posix

command_line = u'...'
arguments = list(split_command_line_nt(command_line)) # or list(split_command_line_posix(command_line))

Usage Examples

We can directly execute this module to see how it splits command-line arguments:

python -m split_command_line nt # or python -m split_command_line posix

NT (Windows) Examples

$ python -m split_command_line nt
Enter a command line: %USERNAME%
argv[0]=%USERNAME%

Enter a command line: '%USERNAME%'
argv[0]='%USERNAME%'

Enter a command line: print_argv Hello & print_argv injected
argv[0]=print_argv
argv[1]=Hello
argv[2]=&
argv[3]=print_argv
argv[4]=injected

Enter a command line: print_argv *.txt
argv[0]=print_argv
argv[1]=*.txt

Enter a command line: C:\Users
argv[0]=C:\Users

Enter a command line: C:\Users\
argv[0]=C:\Users\

Enter a command line: C:\Program Files
argv[0]=C:\Program
argv[1]=Files

Enter a command line: "C:\Program Files"
argv[0]=C:\Program Files

Enter a command line: \
argv[0]=\

Enter a command line: \\
argv[0]=\\

Enter a command line: \\\
argv[0]=\\\

Enter a command line: \"
argv[0]="

Enter a command line: \\\"
argv[0]=\"

Enter a command line: \\\\\"
argv[0]=\\"

Enter a command line: "\"\\\""
argv[0]="\"

Enter a command line: "\\\\\"\""
argv[0]=\\""

Enter a command line: "\"abc\" & \"def\""
argv[0]="abc" & "def"

Enter a command line: "\"a&\"b\"c\"d\"\""
argv[0]="a&"b"c"d""

POSIX (Unix) Examples

$ python -m split_command_line posix
Enter a command line: ${variable}
argv[0]=${variable}

Enter a command line: $(command)
argv[0]=$(command)

Enter a command line: abc && rm -rf
argv[0]=abc
argv[1]=&&
argv[2]=rm
argv[3]=-rf

Enter a command line: 'a' "b" c
argv[0]=a
argv[1]=b
argv[2]=c

Enter a command line: 'a'"b"c
argv[0]=abc

Enter a command line: 'a'\b"c"
argv[0]=abc

Enter a command line: foo\ bar
argv[0]=foo bar

Enter a command line: 'a\\b'
argv[0]=a\\b

Enter a command line: 'a\"b'
argv[0]=a\"b

Enter a command line: "a\\b"
argv[0]=a\b

Enter a command line: "a\"b"
argv[0]=a"b

Enter a command line: "a"b"
Unclosed quote/unfinished escape in input

Enter a command line: "a$b"
argv[0]=a$b

Enter a command line: "a\$b"
argv[0]=a$b

Enter a command line: "a`b`c"
argv[0]=a`b`c

Enter a command line: "a\`b\`c"
argv[0]=a`b`c

Enter a command line: 'abc
Unclosed quote/unfinished escape in input

Enter a command line: "abc
Unclosed quote/unfinished escape in input

Enter a command line: abc'
Unclosed quote/unfinished escape in input

Enter a command line: abc"
Unclosed quote/unfinished escape in input

Enter a command line: abc\
Unclosed quote/unfinished escape in input

Differences Between Implementations

Feature	NT (Windows)	POSIX (Unix)
Quote characters	" only	' and "
Backslash escaping	Only before quotes	All characters
Special characters	Treated literally	Some special handling
Error handling	Silent	Raises ValueError

Development

Contributions welcome! Please open issues or pull requests on GitHub.

License

MIT