sade

What is sade?

The sade npm package is a lightweight command-line interface (CLI) library for building command-line applications in Node.js. It provides a simple and fluent API to define commands, options, and their associated actions. Sade allows developers to easily parse command-line arguments, manage sub-commands, and create user-friendly CLI tools.

What are sade's main functionalities?

Command Definition

This feature allows you to define a command with required and optional arguments. The 'describe' method is used to provide a description for the command, and the 'option' method is used to define options. The 'action' method is where the functionality for the command is implemented.

const sade = require('sade');

const prog = sade('mycli <input>').
  describe('Process the input file.').
  option('-o, --output', 'Specify output file').
  action((input, opts) => {
    console.log(`Processing ${input} with output ${opts.output}`);
  });

prog.parse(process.argv);

Sub-commands

This feature demonstrates how to define sub-commands within a CLI application. Each sub-command can have its own description and action handler.

const sade = require('sade');

const prog = sade('mycli').
  version('1.0.0');

prog.command('build').
  describe('Build the project.').
  action(() => {
    console.log('Building the project...');
  });

prog.command('deploy').
  describe('Deploy the project.').
  action(() => {
    console.log('Deploying the project...');
  });

prog.parse(process.argv);

Option Parsing

This feature shows how to parse options passed to the CLI. Options can be defined with a short and long version, and their presence can be checked within the action handler.

const sade = require('sade');

const prog = sade('mycli').
  option('-v, --verbose', 'Enable verbose output').
  action(opts => {
    if (opts.verbose) {
      console.log('Verbose mode is on.');
    }
  });

prog.parse(process.argv);

Other packages similar to sade

commander

Commander is one of the most popular CLI frameworks for Node.js. It offers a similar feature set to sade, including command and option parsing, but with a more extensive API and additional features like automated help generation and custom option processing.

yargs

Yargs is another well-known package for building CLI tools. It provides a rich set of features for argument parsing, including advanced option configuration, command chaining, and context-aware help menus. Yargs is more heavyweight compared to sade and is suitable for complex CLI applications.

meow

Meow is a simpler alternative to sade, designed for creating lightweight CLI applications with minimal setup. It offers a concise API for option parsing and help text generation. Meow is less feature-rich than sade but is a good choice for simple scripts and smaller projects.

README

The README file is missing