meow
Advanced tools
Package description
The 'meow' npm package is a CLI helper that simplifies the process of writing command-line applications in Node.js. It parses arguments, generates help text, and handles errors.
Argument Parsing
Meow parses command-line arguments and options, making them easily accessible within your application.
const meow = require('meow');
const cli = meow(`
Usage
$ foo <input>
`);
console.log(cli.input); //=> ['inputValue']
console.log(cli.flags); //=> {flagName: flagValue}Help Text Generation
Meow automatically generates and displays help text for your CLI application based on a template you provide.
const meow = require('meow');
const cli = meow(`
Usage
$ foo <input>
Options
--rainbow, -r Include a rainbow
`);
// If the user runs the command with `--help`, meow will automatically display the help text.Flags Customization
Meow allows you to define and customize flags for your CLI application, including setting aliases and default values.
const meow = require('meow');
const cli = meow(`
Usage
$ foo <input>
`, {
flags: {
rainbow: {
type: 'boolean',
alias: 'r'
}
}
});
console.log(cli.flags.rainbow); //=> true or falseYargs is a powerful npm package that helps you build interactive command-line tools, by parsing arguments and generating an elegant user interface. It's more feature-rich than meow, providing a wide range of options for argument parsing, command handling, and validation.
Commander is another npm package for writing command-line applications. It's similar to meow but offers a more object-oriented approach to defining commands and options. Commander is well-suited for complex CLI applications with sub-commands.
Minimist is a minimalistic argument parsing library. Unlike meow, it focuses solely on parsing command-line arguments without any additional features like help text generation or input validation.
Readme
CLI app helper
--version--help$ npm install --save meow
$ ./foo-app.js unicorns --rainbow-cake
#!/usr/bin/env node
'use strict';
const meow = require('meow');
const foo = require('./');
const cli = meow(`
Usage
$ foo <input>
Options
-r, --rainbow Include a rainbow
Examples
$ foo unicorns --rainbow
🌈 unicorns 🌈
`, {
alias: {
r: 'rainbow'
}
});
/*
{
input: ['unicorns'],
flags: {rainbow: true},
...
}
*/
foo(cli.input[0], cli.flags);
Returns an object with:
input (array) - Non-flag argumentsflags (object) - Flags converted to camelCasepkg (object) - The package.json objecthelp (object) - The help text used with --helpshowHelp([code=0]) (function) - Show the help text and exit with codeType: object, array, string
Can either be a string/array that is the help or an options object.
Type: string, boolean
Default: The package.json "description" property
A description to show above the help text.
Set it to false to disable it altogether.
Type: string, boolean
The help text you want shown.
The input is reindented and starting/ending newlines are trimmed which means you can use a template literal without having to care about using the correct amount of indent.
If it's an array each item will be a line.
(Still supported, but you should use a template literal instead.)
The description will be shown above your help text automatically.
Set it to false to disable it altogether.
Type: string, boolean
Default: The package.json "version" property
Set a custom version output.
Set it to false to disable it altogether.
Type: string, object
Default: Closest package.json upwards
Relative path to package.json or as an object.
Type: array
Default: process.argv.slice(2)
Custom arguments object.
Type: object
Default: {}
Minimist options.
Meow will make unhandled rejected promises fail loudly instead of the default silent fail. Meaning you don't have to manually .catch() promises used in your CLI.
See chalk if you want to colorize the terminal output.
See get-stdin if you want to accept input from stdin.
See update-notifier if you want update notifications.
See configstore if you need to persist some data.
MIT © Sindre Sorhus
FAQs
CLI app helper
We found that meow demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 1 open source maintainer collaborating on the project.
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