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

sade

Smooth (CLI) Operator 🎶

Sade is a small but powerful tool for building command-line interface (CLI) applications for Node.js that are fast, responsive, and helpful!

It enables default commands, option flags with aliases, default option values with type-casting, and automated help text generation! Your app's UX will be as smooth as butter... just like Sade's voice. 😉

Install

$ npm install --save sade

Usage

Input:

const sade = require('sade');

const prog = sade('my-cli');

prog
  .version('1.0.5')
  .option('--global, -g', 'An example global flag')
  .option('-c, --config', 'Provide path to custom config', 'foo.config.js');

prog
  .command('build <src> <dest>')
  .describe('Build the source directory. Expects an `index.js` entry file.')
  .option('-o, --output', 'Change the name of the output file', 'bundle.js')
  .example('build src build --global --config my-conf.js')
  .example('build app public -o main.js')
  .action((src, dest, opts) => {
    console.log(`> building from ${src} to ${dest}`);
    console.log('> these are extra opts', opts);
  });

prog.parse(process.argv);

Output:

$ my-cli --help

  Usage
    $ my-cli <command> [options]

  Available Commands
    build    Build the source directory.

  For more info, run any command with the `--help` flag
    $ my-cli build --help

  Options
    -v, --version    Displays current version
    -g, --global     An example global flag
    -c, --config     Provide path to custom config  (default foo.config.js)
    -h, --help       Displays this message


$ my-cli build --help

  Description
    Build the source directory.
    Expects an `index.js` entry file.

  Usage
    $ my-cli build <src> [options]

  Options
    -o, --output    Change the name of the output file  (default bundle.js)
    -g, --global    An example global flag
    -c, --config    Provide path to custom config  (default foo.config.js)
    -h, --help      Displays this message

  Examples
    $ my-cli build src build --global --config my-conf.js
    $ my-cli build app public -o main.js

Tips

• Define your global/program-wide version, options, description, and/or examples first.
  Once you define a Command, you can't access the global-scope again.

• Don't worry about manually displaying help~!
  Your help text is displayed automatically... including command-specific help text!

• Your usage patterns should only include required parameters.
  The [options] inclusion is appended for you automatically.

• Only define what you want to display!
  Help text sections (example, options, etc) will only display if you provide values.

API

sade(name)

name

Type: String
Returns: Program

The name of your bin/program. Returns the Program itself, wherein all other methods are available.

prog.command(usage, desc, opts)

Create a new Command for your Program. This changes the current state of your Program.

All configuration methods (prog.describe, prog.action, etc) will apply to this Command until another Command has been created!

usage

Type: String

The usage pattern for your current Command. This will be included in the general or command-specific --help output.

You must wrap required parameter names with < and >; for example, <foo> and <bar>. These are positionally important, which means they are passed to your current Command's handler function in the order that they were defined.

sade('foo')
  .command('greet <adjective> <noun>')
  .action((adjective, noun, opts) => {
    console.log(`Hello, ${adjective} ${noun}!`);
  })

// $ foo greet beautiful person
//=> Hello, beautiful person!

desc

Type: String
Default: ''

The Command's description. The value is passed directly to prog.describe.

opts

Type: Object
Default: {}

opts.default

Type: Boolean

Manually set/force the current Command to be the Program's default command. This ensures that the current Command will run if no command was specified.

const prog = sade('greet');

prog.command('hello');
//=> only runs if :: `$ greet hello`

prog.command('howdy', '', { default:true });
//=> runs as `$ greet` OR `$ greet howdy`

// $ greet
//=> runs 'howdy' handler

prog.describe(text)

Add a description to the current Command.

text

Type: String|Array

The description text for the current Command. This will be included in the general or command-specific --help output.

Internally, your description will be separated into an Array of sentences.

For general --help output, only the first sentence will be displayed. However, all sentences will be printed for command-specific --help text.

Note: Pass an Array if you don't want internal assumptions. However, the first item is always displayed in general help, so it's recommended to keep it short.

prog.action(handler)

Attach a callback to the current Command.

handler

Type: Function

The function to run when the current Command is executed.

Its parameters are based on your usage definition.

All options, flags, and extra/unknown values are included as the last parameter.

sade('foo')
  .command('cp <src> <dest>')
  .option('-f, --force', 'Overwrite without confirmation')
  .option('-v, --verbose', 'Enable verbose output')
  .action((src, dest, opts) => {
    console.log(`Copying files from ${src} --> ${dest}`);
    console.log('My options:', opts);
  })

// $ foo cp original clone -v
//=> Copying files from original --> clone
//=> My options: { _:[], v:true, verbose:true }

prog.example(str)

Add an example for the current Command.

str

Type: String

The example string to add. This will be included in the general or command-specific --help output.

Note: Your example's str will be prefixed with your Programs's name.

prog.option(flags, desc, value)

Add an Option to the current Command.

flags

Type: String

The Option's flags, which may optionally include an alias.

You may use a comma (,) or a space ( ) to separate the flags.

Note: The short & long flags can be declared in any order. However, the alias will always be displayed first.

prog.option('--global'); // no alias
prog.option('-g, --global'); // alias first, comma
prog.option('--global -g'); // alias last, space
// etc...

desc

Type: String

The description for the Option.

value

Type: String

The default value for the Option.

Flags and aliases, if parsed, are true by default. See mri for more info.

Note: You probably only want to define a default value if you're expecting a String or Number value type.

If you do pass a String or Number value type, your flag value will be casted to the same type. See mri#options.default for info~!

prog.version(str)

The --version and -v flags will automatically output the Program version.

str

Type: String
Default: 0.0.0

The new version number for your Program.

Note: Your Program version is 0.0.0 until you change it.

prog.parse(arr)

Parse a set of CLI arguments.

arr

Type: Array

Your Program's process.argv input.

Important: Do not .slice(2)! Doing so will break parsing~!

prog.help(cmd)

Manually display the help text for a given command. If no command name is provided, the general/global help is printed.

Your general and command-specific help text is automatically attached to the --help and -h flags.

Note: You don't have to call this directly! It's automatically run when you bin --help

cmd

Type: String
Default: null

The name of the command for which to display help. Otherwise displays the general help.

License

MIT © Luke Edwards