minimist-options

What is minimist-options?

The minimist-options npm package is designed to enhance the functionality of the minimist library, which is a popular argument parser for Node.js. Minimist-options allows for more detailed configuration of command line option parsing, including setting types, defaults, and aliases for options. This makes it easier to build complex command-line interfaces (CLIs) with more readable and maintainable code.

What are minimist-options's main functionalities?

Defining option types

This feature allows you to specify the type of value you expect for an option. For example, defining an option as a 'string' ensures that the parsed value will be treated as a string.

{"optionName": {"type": "string"}}

Setting default values

You can set default values for options, which will be used if the option is not provided by the user. This is useful for providing fallback values and making certain options optional.

{"optionName": {"type": "number", "default": 10}}

Using aliases

Aliases allow you to define short versions of option names, making your CLI easier to use. For example, an option '--name' could have an alias '-n', allowing it to be used interchangeably.

{"optionName": {"alias": "n"}}

Other packages similar to minimist-options

yargs

Yargs is a comprehensive command-line option parser that offers a rich set of features similar to minimist-options, such as command handling, argument parsing, and validation. It differs in providing a more extensive API and built-in support for generating help messages and command suggestions.

commander

Commander is another popular npm package for building command-line interfaces. It provides a high-level API for defining commands, options, and action handlers. Compared to minimist-options, Commander offers a more object-oriented approach and includes features for auto-generating help information.

caporal

Caporal is a robust CLI framework that offers features like argument parsing, validation, auto-help, and auto-completion. While it provides functionalities similar to minimist-options, Caporal focuses more on structuring commands and subcommands in a hierarchical manner, making it suitable for complex CLI applications.

README

minimist-options

Write options for minimist and yargs in a comfortable way. Supports string, boolean, number and array options.

Installation

$ npm install --save minimist-options

Usage

const buildOptions = require('minimist-options');
const minimist = require('minimist');

const options = buildOptions({
	name: {
		type: 'string',
		alias: 'n',
		default: 'john'
	},

	force: {
		type: 'boolean',
		alias: ['f', 'o'],
		default: false
	},

	score: {
		type: 'number',
		alias: 's',
		default: 0
	},

	arr: {
		type: 'array',
		alias: 'a',
		default: []
	},

	strings: {
		type: 'string-array',
		alias: 's',
		default: ['a', 'b']
	},

	booleans: {
		type: 'boolean-array',
		alias: 'b',
		default: [true, false]
	},

	numbers: {
		type: 'number-array',
		alias: 'n',
		default: [0, 1]
	},

	published: 'boolean',

	// Special option for positional arguments (`_` in minimist)
	arguments: 'string'
});

const args = minimist(process.argv.slice(2), options);

instead of:

const minimist = require('minimist');

const options = {
	string: ['name', '_'],
	number: ['score'],
	array: [
		'arr',
		{key: 'strings', string: true},
		{key: 'booleans', boolean: true},
		{key: 'numbers', number: true}
	],
	boolean: ['force', 'published'],
	alias: {
		n: 'name',
		f: 'force',
		s: 'score',
		a: 'arr'
	},
	default: {
		name: 'john',
		f: false,
		score: 0,
		arr: []
	}
};

const args = minimist(process.argv.slice(2), options);

Array options

The array types are only supported by yargs.

minimist does not explicitly support array type options. If you set an option multiple times, it will indeed yield an array of values. However, if you only set it once, it will simply give the value as is, without wrapping it in an array. Thus, effectively ignoring {type: 'array'}.

{type: 'array'} is shorthand for {type: 'string-array'}. To have values coerced to boolean or number, use boolean-array or number-array, respectively.

License

MIT © Vadim Demedes