urfave-cli/README.md
2013-07-20 11:24:01 -07:00

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[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/codegangsta/cli.png?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/codegangsta/cli)
# cli.go
cli.go is simple, fast, and fun package for building command line apps in Go. The goal is to enable developers to write fast and distributable command line applications in an expressive way.
## Overview
Command line apps are usually so tiny that there is absolutely no reason why your code should *not* be self-documenting. Things like generating help text and parsing command flags/options should not hinder productivity when writing a command line app.
This is where cli.go comes into play. cli.go makes command line programming fun, organized, and expressive!
## Installation
Make sure you have the a working Go environment (go 1.1 is *required*). [See the install instructions](http://golang.org/doc/install.html).
To install cli.go, simply run:
```
$ go get github.com/codegangsta/cli
```
Make sure your PATH includes to the `$GOPATH/bin` directory so your commands can be easily used:
```
export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin
```
## Getting Started
One of the philosophies behind cli.go is that an API should be playful and full of discovery. So a cli.go app can be as little as one line of code in `main()`.
``` go
package main
import "os"
import "github.com/codegangsta/cli"
func main() {
cli.NewApp().Run(os.Args)
}
```
This app will run and show help text, but is not very useful. Let's give an action to execute and some help documentation:
``` go
package main
import "os"
import "github.com/codegangsta/cli"
func main() {
app := cli.NewApp()
app.Name = "boom"
app.Usage = "make an explosive entrance"
app.Action = func(c *cli.Context) {
println("boom! I say!")
}
app.Run(os.Args)
}
```
Running this already gives you a ton of functionality, plus support for things like subcommands and flags, which are covered below.
## Example
Being a programmer can be a lonely job. Thankfully by the power of automation that is not the case! Let's create a greeter app to fend off our demons of loneliness!
``` go
/* greet.go */
package main
import "os"
import "github.com/codegangsta/cli"
func main() {
app = cli.NewApp()
app.Name = "greet"
app.Usage = "fight the loneliness!"
app.Action = func(c *cli.Context) {
println("Hello friend!")
}
app.Run(os.Args)
}
```
Install our command to the `$GOPATH/bin` directory:
```
$ go install
```
Finally run our new command:
```
$ greet
Hello friend!
```
cli.go also generates some bitchass help text:
```
$ greet help
NAME:
greet - fight the loneliness!
USAGE:
greet [global options] command [command options] [arguments...]
VERSION:
0.0.0
COMMANDS:
help, h Shows a list of commands or help for one command
GLOBAL OPTIONS
--version Shows version information
```
### Arguments
You can lookup arguments by calling the `Args` function on cli.Context.
``` go
...
app.Action = func(c *cli.Context) {
println("Hello", c.Args()[0])
}
...
```
### Flags
Setting and querying flags is simple.
``` go
...
app.Flags = []cli.Flag {
cli.StringFlag{"lang", "english", "language for the greeting"},
}
app.Action = func(c *cli.Context) {
if c.String("lang") == "spanish" {
println("Hola", c.Args()[0])
} else {
println("Hello", c.Args()[0])
}
}
...
```
### Subcommands
Subcommands can be defined for a more git-like command line app.
WIP
## About
cli.go is written by none other than the [Code Gangsta](http://codegangsta.io)