askuser

AskUser

AskUser is a smart CLI utility for collecting and validating user input in Python. It wraps common prompt patterns—validation, menus, defaults, and autocompletion—into a simple, consistent API.

📦 Installation

pip install askuser

📖 API Overview

Function / Class	What It Does
validate_input(...)	Prompt for free-form input, validate type/pattern, show hints (min/max/default) and retry until valid
pretty_menu(*args, **kwargs)	Print a formatted menu of positional (0:) and keyword (x:) options
validate_user_option(...)	Show a menu, auto-add q: quit (unless q=False), prompt user, and return the selected key
validate_user_option_value(...)	Like validate_user_option, but maps the chosen key to its value
validate_user_option_enumerated(dict,...)	Enumerate a dict into numbered options, add q: quit, and return (key, value)
validate_user_option_multi(...)	Multi-select version of validate_user_option, returns keys in pick order; exit with d: done (or xd, xd2, …)
validate_user_option_value_multi(...)	Multi-select version of validate_user_option_value, returns values in pick order; exit with d: done
choose_from_db(list_of_dicts,...)	Tabulate DB rows, prompt for an existing id, optionally accept xq: quit, and return (id, row_dict)
choose_dict_from_list_of_dicts(list, field)	Display each item’s field as a menu, return the selected dict
yes(prompt, default=None)	Shorthand for validate_input(prompt, "yes_no", default) == "y" → returns bool
SubstringCompleter	(internal) a prompt_toolkit completer that finds substring matches in suggestions
user_prompt(prompt, items, return_value=False)	Prompt with autocomplete over a list/dict of items; if return_value=True (and items is a dict), returns the value instead.

🔎 Key types: When you pass options via **kwargs, selected keys are returned in their original types (e.g., int stays int). With positional *args, menu keys are enumerated strings: '0', '1', …

🔍 validate_input

validate_input(
    input_msg: str,
    validation_type: Literal[
      'custom','required','not_in','none_if_blank','yes_no',
      'int','float','alpha','alphanum','custom_chars','regex',
      'date','future_date','time','url','slug','email','phone','language'
    ],
    expected_inputs: list = None,
    not_in:        list = None,
    maximum:       Union[int, float] = None,
    minimum:       Union[int, float] = None,
    allowed_chars: str = None,
    allowed_regex: str = None,
    default:       Any = None
) -> Union[str,int,float,None]

• Default values
  • If you set default, pressing Enter returns the default.
• Hints added automatically
  • yes_no adds (y/n)
  • none_if_blank adds (optional)
  • time adds (hh:mm:ss)
  • maximum/minimum display (max: …) / (min: …)
  • default displays (default: …)
• Validation types
  • Built-in: int, float, alpha, alphanum, date, future_date, time, url, email, phone, slug, language.
  • Custom:
    • custom with expected_inputs=[…]
    • not_in with not_in=[…]
    • custom_chars with allowed_chars="abc123"
    • regex with allowed_regex="^[A-Z]+$"

Example:

# integer with bounds & default
count = validate_input(
    "How many items?", "int",
    minimum=1, maximum=100,
    default=10
)
# • Blank → count == 10  
# • Invalid/out-of-range → re-prompt

🧭 Menus & Options

pretty_menu(*args, **kwargs)

Prints a menu—no prompt:

pretty_menu("List", "Add", d="Delete", q="Quit")
# 0: List    1: Add    d: Delete    q: Quit

Keys are case-sensitive. What you see is what you type.

validate_user_option(...)

validate_user_option(
    input_msg: str = "Option:",
    *args: Any,
    **kwargs: Any  # pass q=False to suppress quit
) -> Any  # key (kwargs preserves original key types; args return '0','1',...)

• Auto-adds q: quit unless q=False.
• Returns the chosen key (preserving original type for **kwargs).

Examples:

opt = validate_user_option("Pick:", "Red","Blue", g="Green")
# keys: '0','1','g','q'

opt = validate_user_option("Pick:", "One","Two", q=False)
# keys: '0','1'

validate_user_option_value(...)

validate_user_option_value(
    input_msg: str = "Option:",
    *args,
    **kwargs: Any  # key -> value
) -> Any

• Builds same menu, returns the value.
• No q by default (legacy behavior).

genre = validate_user_option_value(a="Action", c="Comedy", d="Drama")
# 'c' → "Comedy"

validate_user_option_multi(...)

validate_user_option_multi(
    input_msg: str = "Option:",
    *args,
    **kwargs: Any  # key -> label
) -> List[Any]

• Multi-select version of validate_user_option.
• Exit with d: done by default. If d is already used in your options, exit appears as xd, or xd2, xd3, …
• Pass d=False to disable exit and force “pick until exhausted.”
• Returns a list of keys in the order picked (kwargs preserve original key types).

STATUS = {0:"new", 1:"active", 7:"we rejected"}
picked = validate_user_option_multi("Select statuses:", **STATUS)
# → [1, 7]

validate_user_option_value_multi(...)

validate_user_option_value_multi(
    input_msg: str = "Option:",
    *args,
    **kwargs: Any  # key -> value
) -> List[Any]

• Multi-select version of validate_user_option_value.
• Exit with d: done (or xd, xd2, … if d is taken). Use d=False to disable exit.
• Returns a list of values in the order picked.

vals = validate_user_option_value_multi("Pick genres", a="Action", c="Comedy", d="Drama")
# user picks: c, a → ['Comedy', 'Action']

validate_user_option_enumerated(dict, msg="Option:", start=1)

validate_user_option_enumerated(
    a_dict: Dict[Any, str],
    msg: str = "Option:",
    start: int = 1
) -> Tuple[Any, str]

• Enumerates .items() starting at start.
• Adds q: quit.
• Returns (key, value) or ('q', None).

movies = {101:"Inception", 202:"Memento"}
mid, title = validate_user_option_enumerated(movies, start=1)

🗄 Database-Style Selection

choose_from_db(db_result, input_msg=None, table_desc=None, xq=False)

choose_from_db(
    db_result: List[Dict[str,Any]],
    input_msg: str = None,
    table_desc: str = None,
    xq: bool = False
) -> Tuple[int, Dict]

• Pretty-prints rows with tabulate.
• Only existing id values in db_result are valid.
• If xq=True, also accepts xq → returns ('xq','quit').
• Invalid entries re-prompt.

choose_dict_from_list_of_dicts(list_of_dicts, key_to_choose)

choose_dict_from_list_of_dicts(
    list_of_dicts: List[Dict],
    key_to_choose: str
) -> Dict

• Menu of dict[key_to_choose].
• Returns selected dict.

fruits = [{"name":"Apple","color":"red"},{"name":"Banana","color":"yellow"}]
choice = choose_dict_from_list_of_dicts(fruits, "name")

✅ Yes/No Shortcut

yes("Continue?", default="y")  # True if 'y', False if 'n'; blank → default

💬 Autocomplete

from askuser.autocomplete import user_prompt

res = user_prompt("Country: ", ["USA","UK","IN"], return_value=False)
# ≥2 chars → suggestions

opts = {"us":"United States","uk":"United Kingdom"}
code = user_prompt("Code: ", opts, return_value=True)
# returns 'us'

🔍 All Validation Types

Type	Description
int / float / decimal	Numeric with optional minimum / maximum
alpha / alphanum	Only letters / letters+digits
date / future_date	YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
time	HH:MM:SS
email	Standard RFC email
phone	Digits with optional +, strips spaces/dashes
url	Hostname + optional path/query
slug	[a-z0-9-] only, single delimiter
custom	Only values in expected_inputs
not_in	Reject values in not_in
custom_chars	Only chars in allowed_chars
regex	Match your regex
language	ISO-639 via pycountry

🧪 Testing

Under tests/, examples:

import pytest
from askuser import validate_input, yes, validate_user_option

def test_default(monkeypatch):
    monkeypatch.setattr('builtins.input', lambda _: '')
    assert validate_input("Prompt?", "int", default=7) == 7

def test_no_quit(monkeypatch):
    monkeypatch.setattr('builtins.input', lambda _: '0')
    assert validate_user_option("Pick:", "A","B", q=False) == '0'

Run:

pytest tests/

📜 License

MIT — free to use, modify, and distribute.