Module info.picocli
Package picocli

Class CommandLine


  • public class CommandLine
    extends Object

    CommandLine interpreter that uses reflection to initialize an annotated user object with values obtained from the command line arguments.

    The full user manual is hosted at https://picocli.info.

    Example

    An example that implements Callable and uses the CommandLine.execute convenience API to run in a single line of code:

     @Command(name = "checksum", mixinStandardHelpOptions = true, version = "checksum 4.0",
              description = "Prints the checksum (SHA-1 by default) of a file to STDOUT.")
     class CheckSum implements Callable<Integer> {
    
         @Parameters(index = "0", description = "The file whose checksum to calculate.")
         private File file;
    
         @Option(names = {"-a", "--algorithm"}, description = "MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, ...")
         private String algorithm = "SHA-1";
    
         @Override
         public Integer call() throws Exception { // your business logic goes here...
             byte[] fileContents = Files.readAllBytes(file.toPath());
             byte[] digest = MessageDigest.getInstance(algorithm).digest(fileContents);
             System.out.printf("%0" + (digest.length*2) + "x%n", new BigInteger(1,digest));
             return 0;
         }
    
         // CheckSum implements Callable, so parsing, error handling and handling user
         // requests for usage help or version help can be done with one line of code.
         public static void main(String[] args) {
             int exitCode = new CommandLine(new CheckSum()).execute(args);
             System.exit(exitCode);
         }
     }
     

    Another example where the application calls parseArgs and takes responsibility for error handling and checking whether the user requested help:

    import static picocli.CommandLine.*;
    
     @Command(mixinStandardHelpOptions = true, version = "v3.0.0",
             header = "Encrypt FILE(s), or standard input, to standard output or to the output file.")
     public class Encrypt {
    
         @Parameters(description = "Any number of input files")
         private List<File> files = new ArrayList<File>();
    
         @Option(names = { "-o", "--out" }, description = "Output file (default: print to console)")
         private File outputFile;
    
         @Option(names = { "-v", "--verbose"}, description = "Verbose mode. Helpful for troubleshooting. Multiple -v options increase the verbosity.")
         private boolean[] verbose;
     }
     

    Use CommandLine to initialize a user object as follows:

     public static void main(String... args) {
         Encrypt encrypt = new Encrypt();
         try {
             ParseResult parseResult = new CommandLine(encrypt).parseArgs(args);
             if (!CommandLine.printHelpIfRequested(parseResult)) {
                 runProgram(encrypt);
             }
         } catch (ParameterException ex) { // command line arguments could not be parsed
             System.err.println(ex.getMessage());
             ex.getCommandLine().usage(System.err);
         }
     }
     

    Invoke the above program with some command line arguments. The below are all equivalent:

     --verbose --out=outfile in1 in2
     --verbose --out outfile in1 in2
     -v --out=outfile in1 in2
     -v -o outfile in1 in2
     -v -o=outfile in1 in2
     -vo outfile in1 in2
     -vo=outfile in1 in2
     -v -ooutfile in1 in2
     -vooutfile in1 in2
     

    Classes and Interfaces for Defining a CommandSpec Model

    Classes and Interfaces for Defining a CommandSpec Model

    Classes Related to Parsing Command Line Arguments

    Classes Related to Parsing Command Line Arguments

    • Constructor Detail

      • CommandLine

        public CommandLine​(Object command)
        Constructs a new CommandLine interpreter with the specified object (which may be an annotated user object or a CommandSpec) and a default factory.

        The specified object may be a CommandSpec object, or it may be a @Command-annotated user object with @Option and @Parameters-annotated fields and methods, in which case picocli automatically constructs a CommandSpec from this user object.

        If the specified command object is an interface Class with @Option and @Parameters-annotated methods, picocli creates a Proxy whose methods return the matched command line values. If the specified command object is a concrete Class, picocli delegates to the default factory to get an instance.

        If the specified object implements Runnable or Callable, or if it is a Method object, the command can be run as an application in a single line of code by using the execute method to omit some boilerplate code for handling help requests and invalid input. See getCommandMethods for a convenient way to obtain a command Method.

        When the parseArgs(String...) method is called, the CommandSpec object will be initialized based on command line arguments. If the commandSpec is created from an annotated user object, this user object will be initialized based on the command line arguments.

        Parameters:
        command - an annotated user object or a CommandSpec object to initialize from the command line arguments
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified command object does not have a CommandLine.Command, CommandLine.Option or CommandLine.Parameters annotation
      • CommandLine

        public CommandLine​(Object command,
                           CommandLine.IFactory factory)
        Constructs a new CommandLine interpreter with the specified object (which may be an annotated user object or a CommandSpec) and object factory.

        The specified object may be a CommandSpec object, or it may be a @Command-annotated user object with @Option and @Parameters-annotated fields and methods, in which case picocli automatically constructs a CommandSpec from this user object.

        If the specified command object is an interface Class with @Option and @Parameters-annotated methods, picocli creates a Proxy whose methods return the matched command line values. If the specified command object is a concrete Class, picocli delegates to the factory to get an instance.

        If the specified object implements Runnable or Callable, or if it is a Method object, the command can be run as an application in a single line of code by using the execute method to omit some boilerplate code for handling help requests and invalid input. See getCommandMethods for a convenient way to obtain a command Method.

        When the parseArgs(String...) method is called, the CommandSpec object will be initialized based on command line arguments. If the commandSpec is created from an annotated user object, this user object will be initialized based on the command line arguments.

        Parameters:
        command - an annotated user object or a CommandSpec object to initialize from the command line arguments
        factory - the factory used to create instances of subcommands, converters, etc., that are registered declaratively with annotation attributes
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified command object does not have a CommandLine.Command, CommandLine.Option or CommandLine.Parameters annotation
        Since:
        2.2
    • Method Detail

      • getCommandSpec

        public CommandLine.Model.CommandSpec getCommandSpec()
        Returns the CommandSpec model that this CommandLine was constructed with.
        Returns:
        the CommandSpec model
        Since:
        3.0
      • addMixin

        public CommandLine addMixin​(String name,
                                    Object mixin)
        Adds the options and positional parameters in the specified mixin to this command.

        The specified object may be a CommandSpec object, or it may be a user object with @Option and @Parameters-annotated fields, in which case picocli automatically constructs a CommandSpec from this user object.

        Parameters:
        name - the name by which the mixin object may later be retrieved
        mixin - an annotated user object or a CommandSpec object whose options and positional parameters to add to this command
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.0
      • getMixins

        public Map<String,​Object> getMixins()
        Returns a map of user objects whose options and positional parameters were added to ("mixed in" with) this command.
        Returns:
        a new Map containing the user objects mixed in with this command. If CommandSpec objects without user objects were programmatically added, use the underlying model directly.
        Since:
        3.0
      • addSubcommand

        public CommandLine addSubcommand​(Object command)
        Registers a subcommand with the name obtained from the @Command(name = "...") annotation attribute of the specified command.
        Parameters:
        command - the object to initialize with command line arguments following the subcommand name. This may be a Class that has a @Command annotation, or an instance of such a class, or a CommandSpec or CommandLine instance with its own (nested) subcommands.
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if no name could be found for the specified subcommand, or if another subcommand was already registered under the same name, or if one of the aliases of the specified subcommand was already used by another subcommand.
        Since:
        4.0
        See Also:
        addSubcommand(String, Object)
      • addSubcommand

        public CommandLine addSubcommand​(String name,
                                         Object command)
        Registers a subcommand with the specified name. For example:
         CommandLine commandLine = new CommandLine(new Git())
                 .addSubcommand("status",   new GitStatus())
                 .addSubcommand("commit",   new GitCommit();
                 .addSubcommand("add",      new GitAdd())
                 .addSubcommand("branch",   new GitBranch())
                 .addSubcommand("checkout", new GitCheckout())
                 //...
                 ;
         

        The specified object can be an annotated object or a CommandLine instance with its own nested subcommands. For example:

         CommandLine commandLine = new CommandLine(new MainCommand())
                 .addSubcommand("cmd1",                 new ChildCommand1()) // subcommand
                 .addSubcommand("cmd2",                 new ChildCommand2())
                 .addSubcommand("cmd3", new CommandLine(new ChildCommand3()) // subcommand with nested sub-subcommands
                         .addSubcommand("cmd3sub1",                 new GrandChild3Command1())
                         .addSubcommand("cmd3sub2",                 new GrandChild3Command2())
                         .addSubcommand("cmd3sub3", new CommandLine(new GrandChild3Command3()) // deeper nesting
                                 .addSubcommand("cmd3sub3sub1", new GreatGrandChild3Command3_1())
                                 .addSubcommand("cmd3sub3sub2", new GreatGrandChild3Command3_2())
                         )
                 );
         

        The default type converters are available on all subcommands and nested sub-subcommands, but custom type converters are registered only with the subcommand hierarchy as it existed when the custom type was registered. To ensure a custom type converter is available to all subcommands, register the type converter last, after adding subcommands.

        See also the CommandLine.Command.subcommands() annotation to register subcommands declaratively.

        Parameters:
        name - the string to recognize on the command line as a subcommand. If null, the name of the specified subcommand is used; if this is also null, the first alias is used.
        command - the object to initialize with command line arguments following the subcommand name. This may be a Class that has a @Command annotation, or an instance of such a class, or a CommandSpec or CommandLine instance with its own (nested) subcommands.
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified name is null, and no alternative name could be found, or if another subcommand was already registered under the same name, or if one of the aliases of the specified subcommand was already used by another subcommand.
        Since:
        0.9.7
        See Also:
        registerConverter(Class, ITypeConverter), CommandLine.Command.subcommands()
      • addSubcommand

        public CommandLine addSubcommand​(String name,
                                         Object command,
                                         String... aliases)
        Registers a subcommand with the specified name and all specified aliases. See also addSubcommand(String, Object).
        Parameters:
        name - the string to recognize on the command line as a subcommand. If null, the name of the specified subcommand is used; if this is also null, the first alias is used.
        command - the object to initialize with command line arguments following the subcommand name. This may be a Class that has a @Command annotation, or an instance of such a class, or a CommandSpec or CommandLine instance with its own (nested) subcommands.
        aliases - zero or more alias names that are also recognized on the command line as this subcommand
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified name is null, and no alternative name could be found, or if another subcommand was already registered under the same name, or if one of the aliases of the specified subcommand was already used by another subcommand.
        Since:
        3.1
        See Also:
        addSubcommand(String, Object)
      • getSubcommands

        public Map<String,​CommandLine> getSubcommands()
        Returns a map with the subcommands registered on this instance.
        Returns:
        a map with the registered subcommands
        Since:
        0.9.7
      • getCommand

        public <T> T getCommand()
        Returns the annotated user object that this CommandLine instance was constructed with.
        Type Parameters:
        T - the type of the variable that the return value is being assigned to
        Returns:
        the annotated object that this CommandLine instance was constructed with
        Since:
        0.9.7
      • getFactory

        public CommandLine.IFactory getFactory()
        Returns the factory that this CommandLine was constructed with.
        Returns:
        the factory that this CommandLine was constructed with, never null
        Since:
        4.6
      • setHelpFactory

        public CommandLine setHelpFactory​(CommandLine.IHelpFactory helpFactory)
        Sets a new IHelpFactory to customize the usage help message.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        helpFactory - the new help factory. Must be non-null.
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.9
      • setHelpSectionKeys

        public CommandLine setHelpSectionKeys​(List<String> keys)
        Sets the section keys in the order that the usage help message should render the sections.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Use CommandLine.Model.UsageMessageSpec.sectionKeys(List) to customize a command without affecting its subcommands.

        Since:
        3.9
        See Also:
        getHelpSectionKeys()
      • getHelpSectionMap

        public Map<String,​CommandLine.IHelpSectionRenderer> getHelpSectionMap()
        Returns the map of section keys and renderers used to construct the usage help message. The usage help message can be customized by adding, replacing and removing section renderers from this map. Sections can be reordered with setSectionKeys. Sections that are either not in this map or not in the list returned by getSectionKeys are omitted.

        NOTE: By modifying the returned Map, only the usage help message of this command is affected. Use setHelpSectionMap(Map) to customize the usage help message for this command and all subcommands.

        Since:
        3.9
      • setHelpSectionMap

        public CommandLine setHelpSectionMap​(Map<String,​CommandLine.IHelpSectionRenderer> map)
        Sets the map of section keys and renderers used to construct the usage help message.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Use CommandLine.Model.UsageMessageSpec.sectionMap(Map) to customize a command without affecting its subcommands.

        Since:
        3.9
        See Also:
        getHelpSectionMap()
      • isAdjustLineBreaksForWideCJKCharacters

        public boolean isAdjustLineBreaksForWideCJKCharacters()
        Returns whether line breaks should take wide Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters into account for line-breaking purposes. The default is true.
        Returns:
        true if wide Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters are counted as double the size of other characters for line-breaking purposes
        Since:
        4.0
      • setAdjustLineBreaksForWideCJKCharacters

        public CommandLine setAdjustLineBreaksForWideCJKCharacters​(boolean adjustForWideChars)
        Sets whether line breaks should take wide Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters into account, and returns this UsageMessageSpec. The default is true.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        adjustForWideChars - if true, wide Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters are counted as double the size of other characters for line-breaking purposes
        Since:
        4.0
      • isToggleBooleanFlags

        public boolean isToggleBooleanFlags()
        Returns whether the value of boolean flag options should be "toggled" when the option is matched. From 4.0, this is false by default, and when a flag option is specified on the command line picocli will set its value to the opposite of its default value. If this method returns true, flags are toggled, so if the value is true it is set to false, and when the value is false it is set to true. When toggling is enabled, specifying a flag option twice on the command line will have no effect because they cancel each other out.
        Returns:
        true the value of boolean flag options should be "toggled" when the option is matched, false otherwise
        Since:
        3.0
      • setToggleBooleanFlags

        public CommandLine setToggleBooleanFlags​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether the value of boolean flag options should be "toggled" when the option is matched. The default is false, and when a flag option is specified on the command line picocli will set its value to the opposite of its default value.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.0
      • isInterpolateVariables

        public boolean isInterpolateVariables()
        Returns whether variables should be interpolated in String values. The default is true.
        Since:
        4.0
      • setInterpolateVariables

        public CommandLine setInterpolateVariables​(boolean interpolate)
        Sets whether variables should be interpolated in String values. The default is true.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Since:
        4.0
      • isOverwrittenOptionsAllowed

        public boolean isOverwrittenOptionsAllowed()
        Returns whether options for single-value fields can be specified multiple times on the command line. The default is false and a CommandLine.OverwrittenOptionException is thrown if this happens. When true, the last specified value is retained.
        Returns:
        true if options for single-value fields can be specified multiple times on the command line, false otherwise
        Since:
        0.9.7
      • setOverwrittenOptionsAllowed

        public CommandLine setOverwrittenOptionsAllowed​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether options for single-value fields can be specified multiple times on the command line without a CommandLine.OverwrittenOptionException being thrown. The default is false.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        0.9.7
      • isPosixClusteredShortOptionsAllowed

        public boolean isPosixClusteredShortOptionsAllowed()
        Returns whether the parser accepts clustered short options. The default is true.
        Returns:
        true if short options like -x -v -f SomeFile can be clustered together like -xvfSomeFile, false otherwise
        Since:
        3.0
      • setPosixClusteredShortOptionsAllowed

        public CommandLine setPosixClusteredShortOptionsAllowed​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether short options like -x -v -f SomeFile can be clustered together like -xvfSomeFile. The default is true.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.0
      • isCaseInsensitiveEnumValuesAllowed

        public boolean isCaseInsensitiveEnumValuesAllowed()
        Returns whether the parser should ignore case when converting arguments to enum values. The default is false.
        Returns:
        true if enum values can be specified that don't match the toString() value of the enum constant, false otherwise; e.g., for an option of type java.time.DayOfWeek, values MonDaY, monday and MONDAY are all recognized if true.
        Since:
        3.4
      • setCaseInsensitiveEnumValuesAllowed

        public CommandLine setCaseInsensitiveEnumValuesAllowed​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether the parser should ignore case when converting arguments to enum values. The default is false. When set to true, for example, for an option of type java.time.DayOfWeek, values MonDaY, monday and MONDAY are all recognized if true.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.4
      • isTrimQuotes

        public boolean isTrimQuotes()
        Returns whether the parser should trim quotes from command line arguments. The default is read from the system property "picocli.trimQuotes" and will be true if the property is present and empty, or if its value is "true".

        If this property is set to true, the parser will remove quotes from the command line arguments, as follows:

        • if the command line argument contains just the leading and trailing quote, these quotes are removed
        • if the command line argument contains more quotes than just the leading and trailing quote, the parser first tries to process the parameter with the quotes intact. For example, the split regular expression inside a quoted region should be ignored, so arguments like "a,b","x,y" are handled correctly. For arguments with nested quotes, quotes are removed later in the processing pipeline, after split operations are applied.
        Returns:
        true if the parser should trim quotes from command line arguments before processing them, false otherwise;
        Since:
        3.7
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.trimQuotes()
      • setTrimQuotes

        public CommandLine setTrimQuotes​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether the parser should trim quotes from command line arguments before processing them. The default is read from the system property "picocli.trimQuotes" and will be true if the property is set and empty, or if its value is "true".

        If this property is set to true, the parser will remove quotes from the command line arguments, as follows:

        • if the command line argument contains just the leading and trailing quote, these quotes are removed
        • if the command line argument contains more quotes than just the leading and trailing quote, the parser first tries to process the parameter with the quotes intact. For example, the split regular expression inside a quoted region should be ignored, so arguments like "a,b","x,y" are handled correctly. For arguments with nested quotes, quotes are removed later in the processing pipeline, after split operations are applied.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Calling this method will cause the "picocli.trimQuotes" property to have no effect.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.7
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.trimQuotes(boolean)
      • isSplitQuotedStrings

        @Deprecated
        public boolean isSplitQuotedStrings()
        Deprecated.
        Most applications should not change the default. The rare application that does need to split parameter values without respecting quotes should use CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.splitQuotedStrings(boolean).
        Returns whether the parser is allowed to split quoted Strings or not. The default is false, so quotes are respected: quoted strings are treated as a single value that should not be broken up.

        For example, take a single command line parameter "a,b","x,y". With a comma split regex, the default of splitQuotedStrings = false means that this value will be split into two strings: "a,b" and "x,y". This is usually what you want.

        If splitQuotedStrings is set to true, quotes are not respected, and the value is split up into four parts: the first is "a, the second is b", the third is "x, and the last part is y". This is generally not what you want.

        Returns:
        true if the parser is allowed to split quoted Strings, false otherwise;
        Since:
        3.7
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ArgSpec.splitRegex(), CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.splitQuotedStrings()
      • setSplitQuotedStrings

        @Deprecated
        public CommandLine setSplitQuotedStrings​(boolean newValue)
        Deprecated.
        Most applications should not change the default. The rare application that does need to split parameter values without respecting quotes should use CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.splitQuotedStrings(boolean).
        Sets whether the parser is allowed to split quoted Strings. The default is false, so quotes are respected: quoted strings are treated as a single value that should not be broken up.

        For example, take a single command line parameter "a,b","x,y". With a comma split regex, the default of splitQuotedStrings = false means that this value will be split into two strings: "a,b" and "x,y". This is usually what you want.

        However, if splitQuotedStrings is set to true, quotes are not respected, and the value is split up into four parts: the first is "a, the second is b", the third is "x, and the last part is y". This is generally not what you want.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.7
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ArgSpec.splitRegex(), CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.splitQuotedStrings(boolean)
      • getEndOfOptionsDelimiter

        public String getEndOfOptionsDelimiter()
        Returns the end-of-options delimiter that signals that the remaining command line arguments should be treated as positional parameters.
        Returns:
        the end-of-options delimiter. The default is "--".
        Since:
        3.5
      • setEndOfOptionsDelimiter

        public CommandLine setEndOfOptionsDelimiter​(String delimiter)
        Sets the end-of-options delimiter that signals that the remaining command line arguments should be treated as positional parameters.
        Parameters:
        delimiter - the end-of-options delimiter; must not be null. The default is "--".
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.5
      • isSubcommandsCaseInsensitive

        public boolean isSubcommandsCaseInsensitive()
        Returns whether upper case and lower case should be ignored when matching subcommands. The default is false.
        Returns:
        true if subcommands can be matched when they differ only in case from the getCommandName() value of a registered one, false otherwise. For example, if true, for a subcommand with name help, inputs like help, HeLp and HELP are all recognized.
        Since:
        4.3
      • setSubcommandsCaseInsensitive

        public CommandLine setSubcommandsCaseInsensitive​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether upper case and lower case should be ignored when matching subcommands. The default is false. For example, when set to true, for a subcommand with name help, inputs like help, HeLp and HELP are all recognized.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        4.3
      • isOptionsCaseInsensitive

        public boolean isOptionsCaseInsensitive()
        Returns whether upper case and lower case should be ignored when matching option names. The default is false.
        Returns:
        true if options can be matched when they differ only in case from the names() value of a registered one, false otherwise; For example, if true, for an option with name -h, inputs like -h, -H are both recognized.
        Since:
        4.3
      • setOptionsCaseInsensitive

        public CommandLine setOptionsCaseInsensitive​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether upper case and lower case should be ignored when matching option names. The default is false. For example, when set to true, for an option with name -h, inputs like -h, -H are both recognized.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Note that changing case sensitivity will also change the case sensitivity of negatable options: any custom CommandLine.INegatableOptionTransformer that was previously installed will be replaced by the case-insensitive version of the default transformer. To ensure your custom transformer is used, install it last, after changing case sensitivity.
        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        4.3
      • isAbbreviatedSubcommandsAllowed

        public boolean isAbbreviatedSubcommandsAllowed()
        Returns whether abbreviation of subcommands should be allowed when matching subcommands. The default is false.
        Returns:
        true if subcommands can be matched when they are abbreviations of the getCommandName() value of a registered one, false otherwise. For example, if true, for a subcommand with name helpCommand, inputs like h, h-c and hC are all recognized.
        Since:
        4.4
      • setAbbreviatedSubcommandsAllowed

        public CommandLine setAbbreviatedSubcommandsAllowed​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether abbreviated subcommands should be matched. The default is false. For example, when set to true, for a subcommand helpCommand, inputs like h, h-c and hC are all recognized.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        4.4
      • isAbbreviatedOptionsAllowed

        public boolean isAbbreviatedOptionsAllowed()
        Returns whether abbreviation of option names should be allowed when matching options. The default is false.
        Returns:
        true if options can be matched when they are abbreviations of the names() value of a registered one, false otherwise. For example, if true, for a subcommand with name --helpMe, inputs like --h, --h-m and --hM are all recognized.
        Since:
        4.4
      • setAbbreviatedOptionsAllowed

        public CommandLine setAbbreviatedOptionsAllowed​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether abbreviated option names should be matched. The default is false. For example, when set to true, for an option with name --helpMe, inputs like --h, --h-m and --hM are all recognized.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        4.4
      • setDefaultValueProvider

        public CommandLine setDefaultValueProvider​(CommandLine.IDefaultValueProvider newValue)
        Sets a default value provider for the command and sub-commands

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its sub-commands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Sub-commands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all sub-commands, call the setter last, after adding sub-commands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the default value provider to use
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.6
      • isStopAtPositional

        public boolean isStopAtPositional()
        Returns whether the parser interprets the first positional parameter as "end of options" so the remaining arguments are all treated as positional parameters. The default is false.
        Returns:
        true if all values following the first positional parameter should be treated as positional parameters, false otherwise
        Since:
        2.3
      • setStopAtPositional

        public CommandLine setStopAtPositional​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether the parser interprets the first positional parameter as "end of options" so the remaining arguments are all treated as positional parameters. The default is false.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - true if all values following the first positional parameter should be treated as positional parameters, false otherwise
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        2.3
      • isStopAtUnmatched

        public boolean isStopAtUnmatched()
        Returns whether the parser should stop interpreting options and positional parameters as soon as it encounters an unmatched option. Unmatched options are arguments that look like an option but are not one of the known options, or positional arguments for which there is no available slots (the command has no positional parameters or their size is limited). The default is false.

        Setting this flag to true automatically sets the unmatchedArgumentsAllowed flag to true also.

        Returns:
        true when an unmatched option should result in the remaining command line arguments to be added to the unmatchedArguments list
        Since:
        2.3
      • setStopAtUnmatched

        public CommandLine setStopAtUnmatched​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether the parser should stop interpreting options and positional parameters as soon as it encounters an unmatched option. Unmatched options are arguments that look like an option but are not one of the known options, or positional arguments for which there is no available slots (the command has no positional parameters or their size is limited). The default is false.

        Setting this flag to true automatically sets the unmatchedArgumentsAllowed flag to true also.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - true when an unmatched option should result in the remaining command line arguments to be added to the unmatchedArguments list
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        2.3
      • isAllowSubcommandsAsOptionParameters

        public boolean isAllowSubcommandsAsOptionParameters()
        Returns whether options can have parameter values that match subcommand names or aliases, or whether such values should be rejected with a missing parameter exception. The default is false, so by default input like -x=subcommand is rejected if -x is an option that takes a String parameter, and subcommand is a subcommand of this command.
        Returns:
        true when options can have parameter values that match subcommand names or aliases, false when such values should be rejected with a missing parameter exception
        Since:
        4.7.6
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.allowSubcommandsAsOptionParameters()
      • setAllowSubcommandsAsOptionParameters

        public CommandLine setAllowSubcommandsAsOptionParameters​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether options can have parameter values that match subcommand names or aliases, or whether such values should be rejected with a missing parameter exception. The default is false, so by default input like -x=subcommand is rejected if -x is an option that takes a String parameter, and subcommand is a subcommand of this command.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting. When true, options can have parameter values that match subcommand names or aliases, when false, such values are rejected with a missing parameter exception
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        4.7.6
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.allowSubcommandsAsOptionParameters(boolean)
      • isAllowOptionsAsOptionParameters

        public boolean isAllowOptionsAsOptionParameters()
        Returns whether options can have parameter values that match the name of an option in this command, or whether such values should be rejected with a missing parameter exception. The default is false, so by default input like -x=--some-option is rejected if -x is an option that takes a String parameter, and --some-option is an option of this command.

        This method only considers actual options of this command, as opposed to isUnmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters(), which considers values that resemble options.

        Returns:
        true when options can have parameter values that match the name of an option in this command, false when such values should be rejected with a missing parameter exception
        Since:
        4.7.6
        See Also:
        isUnmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters(), CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.allowOptionsAsOptionParameters()
      • setAllowOptionsAsOptionParameters

        public CommandLine setAllowOptionsAsOptionParameters​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether options can have parameter values that match the name of an option in this command, or whether such values should be rejected with a missing parameter exception. The default is false, so by default input like -x=--some-option is rejected if -x is an option that takes a String parameter, and --some-option is an option of this command.

        This method only considers actual options of this command, as opposed to setUnmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters(boolean), which considers values that resemble options.

        Use with caution! When set to true, any option in the command will consume the maximum number of arguments possible for its arity. This means that an option with arity = "*" will consume all command line arguments following that option. If this is not what you want, consider custom parameter processing.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting. When true, options can have parameter values that match the name of an option in this command, when false, such values are rejected with a missing parameter exception
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        4.7.6
        See Also:
        setUnmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters(boolean), CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.allowOptionsAsOptionParameters(boolean)
      • isUnmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters

        public boolean isUnmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters()
        Returns whether options can have parameter values that resemble an option, or whether such values should be rejected as unknown options. The default is true, so by default input like -x=-unknown is accepted if -x is an option that takes a String parameter.

        This method only considers values that resemble options, as opposed to isAllowOptionsAsOptionParameters(), which considers actual options of this command.

        Returns:
        true when options can have parameter values that resemble an option, false when such values should be rejected as unknown options
        Since:
        4.4
        See Also:
        isAllowOptionsAsOptionParameters(), CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.unmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters()
      • setUnmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters

        public CommandLine setUnmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether options can have parameter values that resemble an option, or whether such values should be rejected as unknown options. The default is true, so by default input like -x=-unknown is accepted if -x is an option that takes a String parameter.

        This method only considers values that resemble options, as opposed to setAllowOptionsAsOptionParameters(boolean), which considers actual options of this command.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting. When true, options can have parameter values that resemble an option, when false, such values are rejected as unknown options
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        4.4
        See Also:
        setAllowOptionsAsOptionParameters(boolean), CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.unmatchedOptionsAllowedAsOptionParameters(boolean)
      • isUnmatchedOptionsArePositionalParams

        public boolean isUnmatchedOptionsArePositionalParams()
        Returns whether arguments on the command line that resemble an option should be treated as positional parameters. The default is false and the parser behaviour depends on isUnmatchedArgumentsAllowed().
        Returns:
        true arguments on the command line that resemble an option should be treated as positional parameters, false otherwise
        Since:
        3.0
        See Also:
        getUnmatchedArguments()
      • setUnmatchedOptionsArePositionalParams

        public CommandLine setUnmatchedOptionsArePositionalParams​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether arguments on the command line that resemble an option should be treated as positional parameters. The default is false.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting. When true, arguments on the command line that resemble an option should be treated as positional parameters.
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.0
        See Also:
        getUnmatchedArguments(), isUnmatchedArgumentsAllowed()
      • isUnmatchedArgumentsAllowed

        public boolean isUnmatchedArgumentsAllowed()
        Returns whether the end user may specify arguments on the command line that are not matched to any option or parameter fields. The default is false and a CommandLine.UnmatchedArgumentException is thrown if this happens. When true, the last unmatched arguments are available via the getUnmatchedArguments() method.
        Returns:
        true if the end use may specify unmatched arguments on the command line, false otherwise
        Since:
        0.9.7
        See Also:
        getUnmatchedArguments()
      • setUnmatchedArgumentsAllowed

        public CommandLine setUnmatchedArgumentsAllowed​(boolean newValue)
        Sets whether the end user may specify unmatched arguments on the command line without a CommandLine.UnmatchedArgumentException being thrown. The default is false.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        newValue - the new setting. When true, the last unmatched arguments are available via the getUnmatchedArguments() method.
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        0.9.7
        See Also:
        getUnmatchedArguments()
      • getUnmatchedArguments

        public List<String> getUnmatchedArguments()
        Returns the list of unmatched command line arguments, if any.
        Returns:
        the list of unmatched command line arguments or an empty list
        Since:
        0.9.7
        See Also:
        isUnmatchedArgumentsAllowed()
      • setColorScheme

        public CommandLine setColorScheme​(CommandLine.Help.ColorScheme colorScheme)
        Sets the color scheme to use when printing help.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        colorScheme - the new color scheme
        Since:
        4.0
        See Also:
        execute(String...), usage(PrintStream), usage(PrintWriter), getUsageMessage()
      • getOut

        public PrintWriter getOut()
        Returns the writer used when printing user-requested usage help or version help during command execution. Defaults to a PrintWriter wrapper around System.out unless setOut(PrintWriter) was called with a different writer.

        This method is used by execute(String...). Custom IExecutionStrategy implementations should also use this writer.

        By convention, when the user requests help with a --help or similar option, the usage help message is printed to the standard output stream so that it can be easily searched and paged.

        Since:
        4.0
      • setOut

        public CommandLine setOut​(PrintWriter out)
        Sets the writer to use when printing user-requested usage help or version help during command execution.

        This method is used by execute(String...). Custom IExecutionStrategy implementations should also use this writer.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        out - the new PrintWriter to use
        Returns:
        this CommandLine for method chaining
        Since:
        4.0
      • setErr

        public CommandLine setErr​(PrintWriter err)
        Sets the writer to use when printing diagnostic (error) messages during command execution.

        This method is used by execute(String...). IParameterExceptionHandler and IExecutionExceptionHandler implementations should use this writer to print error messages (which may include a usage help message) when an unexpected error occurs.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        err - the new PrintWriter to use
        Returns:
        this CommandLine for method chaining
        Since:
        4.0
      • getExitCodeExceptionMapper

        public CommandLine.IExitCodeExceptionMapper getExitCodeExceptionMapper()
        Returns the mapper that was set by the application to map from exceptions to exit codes, for use by the execute method.
        Returns:
        the mapper that was set, or null if none was set
        Since:
        4.0
      • setExitCodeExceptionMapper

        public CommandLine setExitCodeExceptionMapper​(CommandLine.IExitCodeExceptionMapper exitCodeExceptionMapper)
        Sets the mapper used by the execute method to map exceptions to exit codes.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        exitCodeExceptionMapper - the new value
        Returns:
        this CommandLine for method chaining
        Since:
        4.0
      • getExecutionStrategy

        public CommandLine.IExecutionStrategy getExecutionStrategy()
        Returns the execution strategy used by the execute method to invoke the business logic on the user objects of this command and/or the user-specified subcommand(s). The default value is RunLast.
        Returns:
        the execution strategy to run the user-specified command
        Since:
        4.0
      • setExecutionStrategy

        public CommandLine setExecutionStrategy​(CommandLine.IExecutionStrategy executionStrategy)
        Sets the execution strategy that the execute method should use to invoke the business logic on the user objects of this command and/or the user-specified subcommand(s).

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        executionStrategy - the new execution strategy to run the user-specified command
        Returns:
        this CommandLine for method chaining
        Since:
        4.0
      • getParameterExceptionHandler

        public CommandLine.IParameterExceptionHandler getParameterExceptionHandler()
        Returns the handler for dealing with invalid user input when the command is executed.

        The default implementation prints an error message describing the problem, followed by either suggested alternatives for mistyped options, or the full usage help message of the problematic command; it then delegates to the exit code exception mapper for an exit code, with exitCodeOnInvalidInput as the default exit code.

        Alternatively, you can install a "short error message handler" like this:

         static class ShortErrorMessageHandler implements IParameterExceptionHandler {
             public int handleParseException(ParameterException ex, String[] args) {
                 CommandLine cmd = ex.getCommandLine();
                 PrintWriter writer = cmd.getErr();
        
                 writer.println(ex.getMessage());
                 UnmatchedArgumentException.printSuggestions(ex, writer);
                 writer.print(cmd.getHelp().fullSynopsis());
        
                 CommandSpec spec = cmd.getCommandSpec();
                 writer.printf("Try '%s --help' for more information.%n", spec.qualifiedName());
        
                 return cmd.getExitCodeExceptionMapper() != null
                             ? cmd.getExitCodeExceptionMapper().getExitCode(ex)
                             : spec.exitCodeOnInvalidInput();
             }
         }
         

        Install this error handler like this:

         new CommandLine(new MyApp())
             .setParameterExceptionHandler(new ShortErrorMessageHandler())
             .execute(args);
         
        Returns:
        the handler for dealing with invalid user input
        Since:
        4.0
      • setParameterExceptionHandler

        public CommandLine setParameterExceptionHandler​(CommandLine.IParameterExceptionHandler parameterExceptionHandler)
        Sets the handler for dealing with invalid user input when the command is executed.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        parameterExceptionHandler - the new handler for dealing with invalid user input
        Returns:
        this CommandLine for method chaining
        Since:
        4.0
        See Also:
        an example short exception handler
      • getExecutionExceptionHandler

        public CommandLine.IExecutionExceptionHandler getExecutionExceptionHandler()
        Returns the handler for dealing with exceptions that occurred in the Callable, Runnable or Method user object of a command when the command was executed.

        The default implementation rethrows the specified exception.

        Returns:
        the handler for dealing with exceptions that occurred in the business logic when the execute method was invoked.
        Since:
        4.0
      • setExecutionExceptionHandler

        public CommandLine setExecutionExceptionHandler​(CommandLine.IExecutionExceptionHandler executionExceptionHandler)
        Sets a custom handler for dealing with exceptions that occurred in the Callable, Runnable or Method user object of a command when the command was executed via the execute method.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        executionExceptionHandler - the handler for dealing with exceptions that occurred in the business logic when the execute method was invoked.
        Returns:
        this CommandLine for method chaining
        Since:
        4.0
      • populateCommand

        public static <T> T populateCommand​(T command,
                                            String... args)

        Convenience method that initializes the specified annotated object from the specified command line arguments.

        This is equivalent to

         new CommandLine(command).parseArgs(args);
         return command;
         

        All this method does is parse the arguments and populate the annotated fields and methods. The caller is responsible for catching any exceptions, handling requests for usage help or version information, and invoking the business logic. Applications may be interested in using the execute(String...) method instead.

        Type Parameters:
        T - the type of the annotated object
        Parameters:
        command - the object to initialize. This object contains fields annotated with @Option or @Parameters.
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Returns:
        the specified annotated object
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified command object does not have a CommandLine.Command, CommandLine.Option or CommandLine.Parameters annotation
        CommandLine.ParameterException - if the specified command line arguments are invalid
        Since:
        0.9.7
        See Also:
        execute(String...)
      • populateSpec

        public static <T> T populateSpec​(Class<T> spec,
                                         String... args)

        Convenience method that derives the command specification from the specified interface class, and returns an instance of the specified interface. The interface is expected to have annotated getter methods. Picocli will instantiate the interface and the getter methods will return the option and positional parameter values matched on the command line.

        This is equivalent to

         CommandLine cli = new CommandLine(spec);
         cli.parse(args);
         return cli.getCommand();
         

        All this method does is parse the arguments and return an instance whose annotated methods return the specified values. The caller is responsible for catching any exceptions, handling requests for usage help or version information, and invoking the business logic. Applications may be interested in using the execute(String...) method instead.

        Type Parameters:
        T - the type of the annotated object
        Parameters:
        spec - the interface that defines the command specification. This object contains getter methods annotated with @Option or @Parameters.
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Returns:
        an instance of the specified annotated interface
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified command object does not have a CommandLine.Command, CommandLine.Option or CommandLine.Parameters annotation
        CommandLine.ParameterException - if the specified command line arguments are invalid
        Since:
        3.1
        See Also:
        execute(String...)
      • parse

        @Deprecated
        public List<CommandLine> parse​(String... args)
        Deprecated.
        Expands any @-files in the specified command line arguments, then parses the arguments and returns a list of CommandLine objects representing the top-level command and any subcommands (if any) that were recognized and initialized during the parsing process.

        If parsing succeeds, the first element in the returned list is always this CommandLine object. The returned list may contain more elements if subcommands were registered and these subcommands were initialized by matching command line arguments. If parsing fails, a CommandLine.ParameterException is thrown.

        All this method does is parse the arguments and populate the annotated fields and methods. The caller is responsible for catching any exceptions, handling requests for usage help or version information, and invoking the business logic. Applications may be interested in using the execute(String...) method instead.

        Parameters:
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Returns:
        a list with the top-level command and any subcommands initialized by this method
        Throws:
        CommandLine.ParameterException - if the specified command line arguments are invalid; use CommandLine.ParameterException.getCommandLine() to get the command or subcommand whose user input was invalid
      • parseArgs

        public CommandLine.ParseResult parseArgs​(String... args)
        Expands any @-files in the specified command line arguments, then parses the arguments and returns a ParseResult with the options, positional parameters, and subcommands (if any) that were recognized and initialized during the parsing process.

        If parsing fails, a CommandLine.ParameterException is thrown.

        All this method does is parse the arguments and populate the annotated fields and methods. The caller is responsible for catching any exceptions, handling requests for usage help or version information, and invoking the business logic. Applications may be interested in using the execute(String...) method instead.

        Parameters:
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Returns:
        a list with the top-level command and any subcommands initialized by this method
        Throws:
        CommandLine.ParameterException - if the specified command line arguments are invalid; use CommandLine.ParameterException.getCommandLine() to get the command or subcommand whose user input was invalid
        See Also:
        execute(String...)
      • getExecutionResult

        public <T> T getExecutionResult()
        Returns the result of calling the user object Callable or invoking the user object Method after parsing the user input, or null if this command has not been executed or if this CommandLine is for a subcommand that was not specified by the end user on the command line.

        Implementation note:

        It is the responsibility of the IExecutionStrategy to set this value.

        Type Parameters:
        T - type of the result value
        Returns:
        the result of the user object Callable or Method (may be null), or null if this (sub)command was not executed
        Since:
        4.0
      • setExecutionResult

        public void setExecutionResult​(Object result)
        Sets the result of calling the business logic on the command's user object.
        Parameters:
        result - the business logic result, may be null
        Since:
        4.0
        See Also:
        execute(String...), CommandLine.IExecutionStrategy
      • clearExecutionResults

        public void clearExecutionResults()
        Clears the execution result of a previous invocation from this CommandLine and all subcommands.
        Since:
        4.0
      • printHelpIfRequested

        public static boolean printHelpIfRequested​(CommandLine.ParseResult parseResult)
        Parameters:
        parseResult - contains the CommandLine objects found during parsing; check these to see if help was requested
        Returns:
        true if help was printed, false otherwise
        Since:
        3.0
      • printHelpIfRequested

        @Deprecated
        public static boolean printHelpIfRequested​(List<CommandLine> parsedCommands,
                                                   PrintStream out,
                                                   PrintStream err,
                                                   CommandLine.Help.Ansi ansi)
        Deprecated.
        Delegates to the implementation of executeHelpRequest(ParseResult).
        Parameters:
        parsedCommands - the list of CommandLine objects to check if help was requested
        out - the PrintStream to print help to if requested
        err - the error string to print diagnostic messages to, in addition to the output from the exception handler
        ansi - for printing help messages using ANSI styles and colors
        Returns:
        true if help was printed, false otherwise
        Since:
        3.0
      • printHelpIfRequested

        @Deprecated
        public static boolean printHelpIfRequested​(List<CommandLine> parsedCommands,
                                                   PrintStream out,
                                                   PrintStream err,
                                                   CommandLine.Help.ColorScheme colorScheme)
        Deprecated.
        Delegates to the implementation of executeHelpRequest(ParseResult).
        Parameters:
        parsedCommands - the list of CommandLine objects to check if help was requested
        out - the PrintStream to print help to if requested
        err - the error string to print diagnostic messages to, in addition to the output from the exception handler
        colorScheme - for printing help messages using ANSI styles and colors
        Returns:
        true if help was printed, false otherwise
        Since:
        3.6
      • execute

        public int execute​(String... args)
        Convenience method to allow command line application authors to avoid some boilerplate code in their application. To use this method, the annotated object that this CommandLine is constructed with needs to either implement Runnable, Callable, or be a Method object. See getCommandMethods for a convenient way to obtain a command Method.

        This method replaces the run, call and invoke convenience methods that were available with previous versions of picocli.

        Exit Code

        This method returns an exit code that applications can use to call System.exit. (The return value of the Callable or Method can still be obtained via getExecutionResult.) If the user object Callable or Method returns an int or Integer, this will be used as the exit code. Additionally, if the user object implements IExitCodeGenerator, an exit code is obtained by calling its getExitCode() method (after invoking the user object).

        In the case of multiple exit codes the highest value will be used (or if all values are negative, the lowest value will be used).

        Exception Handling

        This method never throws an exception.

        If the user specified invalid input, the parameter exception handler is invoked. By default this prints an error message and the usage help message, and returns an exit code.

        If an exception occurred while the user object Runnable, Callable, or Method was invoked, this exception is caught and passed to the execution exception handler. The default IExecutionExceptionHandler will rethrow this Exception.

        Any exception thrown from the IParameterExceptionHandler or IExecutionExceptionHandler is caught, it stacktrace is printed and is mapped to an exit code, using the following logic:

        If an IExitCodeExceptionMapper is configured, this mapper is used to determine the exit code based on the exception.

        If an IExitCodeExceptionMapper is not set, by default this method will return the @Command annotation's exitCodeOnInvalidInput or exitCodeOnExecutionException value, respectively.

        Example Usage:

         @Command
         class MyCommand implements Callable<Integer> {
             public Integer call() { return 123; }
         }
         CommandLine cmd = new CommandLine(new MyCommand());
         int exitCode = cmd.execute(args);
         assert exitCode == 123;
         System.exit(exitCode);
         

        Since execute is an instance method, not a static method, applications can do configuration before invoking the command. For example:

        
         CommandLine cmd = new CommandLine(new MyCallable())
                 .setCaseInsensitiveEnumValuesAllowed(true) // configure a non-default parser option
                 .setOut(myOutWriter()) // configure an alternative to System.out
                 .setErr(myErrWriter()) // configure an alternative to System.err
                 .setColorScheme(myColorScheme()); // configure a custom color scheme
         int exitCode = cmd.execute(args);
         System.exit(exitCode);
         

        If the specified command has subcommands, the last subcommand specified on the command line is executed. This can be configured by setting the execution strategy. Built-in alternatives are executing the first subcommand, or executing all specified subcommands.

        Parameters:
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Returns:
        the exit code
        Since:
        4.0
        See Also:
        CommandLine.ExitCode, CommandLine.IExitCodeGenerator, getExecutionResult(), getExecutionStrategy(), getParameterExceptionHandler(), getExecutionExceptionHandler(), getExitCodeExceptionMapper()
      • parseWithHandler

        @Deprecated
        public <R> R parseWithHandler​(CommandLine.IParseResultHandler2<R> handler,
                                      String[] args)
        Deprecated.
        Returns the result of calling parseWithHandlers(IParseResultHandler2, IExceptionHandler2, String...) with a new CommandLine.DefaultExceptionHandler in addition to the specified parse result handler and the specified command line arguments.

        This is a convenience method intended to offer the same ease of use as the run and call methods, but with more flexibility and better support for nested subcommands.

        Calling this method roughly expands to:

        
         try {
             ParseResult parseResult = parseArgs(args);
             return handler.handleParseResult(parseResult);
         } catch (ParameterException ex) {
             return new DefaultExceptionHandler<R>().handleParseException(ex, args);
         }
         

        Picocli provides some default handlers that allow you to accomplish some common tasks with very little code. The following handlers are available:

        • CommandLine.RunLast handler prints help if requested, and otherwise gets the last specified command or subcommand and tries to execute it as a Runnable or Callable.
        • CommandLine.RunFirst handler prints help if requested, and otherwise executes the top-level command as a Runnable or Callable.
        • CommandLine.RunAll handler prints help if requested, and otherwise executes all recognized commands and subcommands as Runnable or Callable tasks.
        • CommandLine.DefaultExceptionHandler prints the error message followed by usage help
        Type Parameters:
        R - the return type of this handler
        Parameters:
        handler - the function that will handle the result of successfully parsing the command line arguments
        args - the command line arguments
        Returns:
        an object resulting from handling the parse result or the exception that occurred while parsing the input
        Throws:
        CommandLine.ExecutionException - if the command line arguments were parsed successfully but a problem occurred while processing the parse results; use CommandLine.ExecutionException.getCommandLine() to get the command or subcommand where processing failed
        Since:
        3.0
        See Also:
        CommandLine.RunLast, CommandLine.RunAll
      • parseWithHandlers

        @Deprecated
        public <R> R parseWithHandlers​(CommandLine.IParseResultHandler2<R> handler,
                                       CommandLine.IExceptionHandler2<R> exceptionHandler,
                                       String... args)
        Deprecated.
        Tries to parse the specified command line arguments, and if successful, delegates the processing of the resulting ParseResult object to the specified handler. If the command line arguments were invalid, the ParameterException thrown from the parse method is caught and passed to the specified CommandLine.IExceptionHandler2.

        This is a convenience method intended to offer the same ease of use as the run and call methods, but with more flexibility and better support for nested subcommands.

        Calling this method roughly expands to:

         ParseResult parseResult = null;
         try {
             parseResult = parseArgs(args);
             return handler.handleParseResult(parseResult);
         } catch (ParameterException ex) {
             return exceptionHandler.handleParseException(ex, (String[]) args);
         } catch (ExecutionException ex) {
             return exceptionHandler.handleExecutionException(ex, parseResult);
         }
         

        Picocli provides some default handlers that allow you to accomplish some common tasks with very little code. The following handlers are available:

        • CommandLine.RunLast handler prints help if requested, and otherwise gets the last specified command or subcommand and tries to execute it as a Runnable or Callable.
        • CommandLine.RunFirst handler prints help if requested, and otherwise executes the top-level command as a Runnable or Callable.
        • CommandLine.RunAll handler prints help if requested, and otherwise executes all recognized commands and subcommands as Runnable or Callable tasks.
        • CommandLine.DefaultExceptionHandler prints the error message followed by usage help
        Type Parameters:
        R - the return type of the result handler and exception handler
        Parameters:
        handler - the function that will handle the result of successfully parsing the command line arguments
        exceptionHandler - the function that can handle the ParameterException thrown when the command line arguments are invalid
        args - the command line arguments
        Returns:
        an object resulting from handling the parse result or the exception that occurred while parsing the input
        Throws:
        CommandLine.ExecutionException - if the command line arguments were parsed successfully but a problem occurred while processing the parse result ParseResult object; use CommandLine.ExecutionException.getCommandLine() to get the command or subcommand where processing failed
        Since:
        3.0
        See Also:
        CommandLine.RunLast, CommandLine.RunAll, CommandLine.DefaultExceptionHandler
      • usage

        public void usage​(PrintStream out,
                          CommandLine.Help.ColorScheme colorScheme)
        Prints a usage help message for the annotated command class to the specified PrintStream. Delegates construction of the usage help message to the CommandLine.Help inner class and is equivalent to:
         Help.ColorScheme colorScheme = Help.defaultColorScheme(Help.Ansi.AUTO);
         Help help = getHelpFactory().create(getCommandSpec(), colorScheme)
         StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
         for (String key : getHelpSectionKeys()) {
             IHelpSectionRenderer renderer = getHelpSectionMap().get(key);
             if (renderer != null) { sb.append(renderer.render(help)); }
         }
         out.print(sb);
         

        Annotate your class with CommandLine.Command to control many aspects of the usage help message, including the program name, text of section headings and section contents, and some aspects of the auto-generated sections of the usage help message.

        To customize the auto-generated sections of the usage help message, like how option details are displayed, instantiate a CommandLine.Help object and use a CommandLine.Help.TextTable with more of fewer columns, a custom layout, and/or a custom option renderer for ultimate control over which aspects of an Option or Field are displayed where.

        Parameters:
        out - the PrintStream to print the usage help message to
        colorScheme - the ColorScheme defining the styles for options, parameters and commands when ANSI is enabled
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.UsageMessageSpec
      • getUsageMessage

        public String getUsageMessage()
        Similar to usage(PrintStream), but returns the usage help message as a String instead of printing it to the PrintStream.
        Since:
        3.2
      • call

        @Deprecated
        public static <C extends Callable<T>,​T> T call​(C callable,
                                                             PrintStream out,
                                                             PrintStream err,
                                                             CommandLine.Help.Ansi ansi,
                                                             String... args)
        Deprecated.
        Convenience method to allow command line application authors to avoid some boilerplate code in their application. The annotated object needs to implement Callable.

        Consider using the execute(String...) method instead:

        
         CommandLine cmd = new CommandLine(callable)
                 .setOut(myOutWriter()) // System.out by default
                 .setErr(myErrWriter()) // System.err by default
                 .setColorScheme(myColorScheme()); // default color scheme, Ansi.AUTO by default
         int exitCode = cmd.execute(args);
         //System.exit(exitCode);
         

        If the specified Callable command has subcommands, the last subcommand specified on the command line is executed.

        Type Parameters:
        C - the annotated object must implement Callable
        T - the return type of the specified Callable
        Parameters:
        callable - the command to call when parsing succeeds.
        out - the printStream to print the usage help message to when the user requested help
        err - the printStream to print diagnostic messages to
        ansi - including whether the usage message should include ANSI escape codes or not
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Returns:
        null if an error occurred while parsing the command line options, or if help was requested and printed. Otherwise returns the result of calling the Callable
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified command object does not have a CommandLine.Command, CommandLine.Option or CommandLine.Parameters annotation
        CommandLine.ExecutionException - if the Callable throws an exception
        Since:
        3.0
      • call

        @Deprecated
        public static <C extends Callable<T>,​T> T call​(Class<C> callableClass,
                                                             CommandLine.IFactory factory,
                                                             PrintStream out,
                                                             PrintStream err,
                                                             CommandLine.Help.Ansi ansi,
                                                             String... args)
        Deprecated.
        Convenience method to allow command line application authors to avoid some boilerplate code in their application. The specified factory will create an instance of the specified callableClass; use this method instead of call(Callable, ...) if you want to use a factory that performs Dependency Injection. The annotated class needs to implement Callable.

        Consider using the execute(String...) method instead:

        
         CommandLine cmd = new CommandLine(callableClass, factory)
                 .setOut(myOutWriter()) // System.out by default
                 .setErr(myErrWriter()) // System.err by default
                 .setColorScheme(myColorScheme()); // default color scheme, Ansi.AUTO by default
         int exitCode = cmd.execute(args);
         //System.exit(exitCode);
         

        If the specified Callable command has subcommands, the last subcommand specified on the command line is executed.

        Type Parameters:
        C - the annotated class must implement Callable
        T - the return type of the most specific command (must implement Callable)
        Parameters:
        callableClass - class of the command to call when parsing succeeds.
        factory - the factory responsible for instantiating the specified callable class and potentially injecting other components
        out - the printStream to print the usage help message to when the user requested help
        err - the printStream to print diagnostic messages to
        ansi - the ANSI style to use
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Returns:
        null if an error occurred while parsing the command line options, or if help was requested and printed. Otherwise returns the result of calling the Callable
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified class cannot be instantiated by the factory, or does not have a CommandLine.Command, CommandLine.Option or CommandLine.Parameters annotation
        CommandLine.ExecutionException - if the Callable throws an exception
        Since:
        3.2
      • run

        @Deprecated
        public static <R extends Runnable> void run​(R runnable,
                                                    PrintStream out,
                                                    PrintStream err,
                                                    CommandLine.Help.Ansi ansi,
                                                    String... args)
        Deprecated.
        use execute(String...) instead
        Convenience method to allow command line application authors to avoid some boilerplate code in their application. The annotated object needs to implement Runnable.

        Consider using the execute(String...) method instead:

        
         CommandLine cmd = new CommandLine(runnable)
                 .setOut(myOutWriter()) // System.out by default
                 .setErr(myErrWriter()) // System.err by default
                 .setColorScheme(myColorScheme()); // default color scheme, Ansi.AUTO by default
         int exitCode = cmd.execute(args);
         //System.exit(exitCode);
         

        If the specified Runnable command has subcommands, the last subcommand specified on the command line is executed.

        From picocli v2.0, this method prints usage help or version help if requested, and any exceptions thrown by the Runnable are caught and rethrown wrapped in an ExecutionException.

        Type Parameters:
        R - the annotated object must implement Runnable
        Parameters:
        runnable - the command to run when parsing succeeds.
        out - the printStream to print the usage help message to when the user requested help
        err - the printStream to print diagnostic messages to
        ansi - whether the usage message should include ANSI escape codes or not
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified command object does not have a CommandLine.Command, CommandLine.Option or CommandLine.Parameters annotation
        CommandLine.ExecutionException - if the Runnable throws an exception
        Since:
        3.0
      • run

        @Deprecated
        public static <R extends Runnable> void run​(Class<R> runnableClass,
                                                    CommandLine.IFactory factory,
                                                    PrintStream out,
                                                    PrintStream err,
                                                    CommandLine.Help.Ansi ansi,
                                                    String... args)
        Deprecated.
        use execute(String...) instead
        Convenience method to allow command line application authors to avoid some boilerplate code in their application. The specified factory will create an instance of the specified runnableClass; use this method instead of run(Runnable, ...) if you want to use a factory that performs Dependency Injection. The annotated class needs to implement Runnable.

        Consider using the execute(String...) method instead:

        
         CommandLine cmd = new CommandLine(runnableClass, factory)
                 .setOut(myOutWriter()) // System.out by default
                 .setErr(myErrWriter()) // System.err by default
                 .setColorScheme(myColorScheme()); // default color scheme, Ansi.AUTO by default
         int exitCode = cmd.execute(args);
         //System.exit(exitCode);
         

        If the specified Runnable command has subcommands, the last subcommand specified on the command line is executed.

        This method prints usage help or version help if requested, and any exceptions thrown by the Runnable are caught and rethrown wrapped in an ExecutionException.

        Type Parameters:
        R - the annotated class must implement Runnable
        Parameters:
        runnableClass - class of the command to run when parsing succeeds.
        factory - the factory responsible for instantiating the specified Runnable class and potentially injecting other components
        out - the printStream to print the usage help message to when the user requested help
        err - the printStream to print diagnostic messages to
        ansi - whether the usage message should include ANSI escape codes or not
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Since:
        3.2
      • invoke

        @Deprecated
        public static Object invoke​(String methodName,
                                    Class<?> cls,
                                    PrintStream out,
                                    PrintStream err,
                                    CommandLine.Help.Ansi ansi,
                                    String... args)
        Deprecated.
        Convenience method to allow command line application authors to avoid some boilerplate code in their application. Constructs a CommandLine.Model.CommandSpec model from the @Option and @Parameters-annotated method parameters of the @Command-annotated method, parses the specified command line arguments and invokes the specified method.

        Consider using the execute(String...) method instead:

        
         Method commandMethod = getCommandMethods(cls, methodName).get(0);
         CommandLine cmd = new CommandLine(commandMethod)
                 .setOut(myOutWriter()) // System.out by default
                 .setErr(myErrWriter()) // System.err by default
                 .setColorScheme(myColorScheme()); // default color scheme, Ansi.AUTO by default
         int exitCode = cmd.execute(args);
         //System.exit(exitCode);
         
        Parameters:
        methodName - the @Command-annotated method to build a CommandLine.Model.CommandSpec model from, and run when parsing succeeds.
        cls - the class where the @Command-annotated method is declared, or a subclass
        out - the printStream to print the usage help message to when the user requested help
        err - the printStream to print diagnostic messages to
        ansi - whether the usage message should include ANSI escape codes or not
        args - the command line arguments to parse
        Throws:
        CommandLine.InitializationException - if the specified method does not have a CommandLine.Command annotation, or if the specified class contains multiple @Command-annotated methods with the specified name
        CommandLine.ExecutionException - if the method throws an exception
        Since:
        3.6
      • getCommandMethods

        public static List<Method> getCommandMethods​(Class<?> cls,
                                                     String methodName)
        Helper to get methods of a class annotated with @Command via reflection, optionally filtered by method name (not @Command.name). Methods have to be either public (inherited) members or be declared by cls, that is "inherited" static or protected methods will not be picked up.
        Parameters:
        cls - the class to search for methods annotated with @Command
        methodName - if not null, return only methods whose method name (not @Command.name) equals this string. Ignored if null.
        Returns:
        the matching command methods, or an empty list
        Since:
        3.6.0
        See Also:
        invoke(String, Class, String...)
      • registerConverter

        public <K> CommandLine registerConverter​(Class<K> cls,
                                                 CommandLine.ITypeConverter<K> converter)
        Registers the specified type converter for the specified class. When initializing fields annotated with CommandLine.Option, the field's type is used as a lookup key to find the associated type converter, and this type converter converts the original command line argument string value to the correct type.

        Java 8 lambdas make it easy to register custom type converters:

         commandLine.registerConverter(java.nio.file.Path.class, s -> java.nio.file.Paths.get(s));
         commandLine.registerConverter(java.time.Duration.class, s -> java.time.Duration.parse(s));

        Built-in type converters are pre-registered for the following java 1.5 types:

        • all primitive types
        • all primitive wrapper types: Boolean, Byte, Character, Double, Float, Integer, Long, Short
        • any enum
        • java.io.File
        • java.math.BigDecimal
        • java.math.BigInteger
        • java.net.InetAddress
        • java.net.URI
        • java.net.URL
        • java.nio.charset.Charset
        • java.sql.Time
        • java.util.Date
        • java.util.UUID
        • java.util.regex.Pattern
        • StringBuilder
        • CharSequence
        • String

        The specified converter will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment the converter is registered. Subcommands added later will not have this converter added automatically. To ensure a custom type converter is available to all subcommands, register the type converter last, after adding subcommands.

        Type Parameters:
        K - the target type
        Parameters:
        cls - the target class to convert parameter string values to
        converter - the class capable of converting string values to the specified target type
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        See Also:
        addSubcommand(String, Object)
      • getSeparator

        public String getSeparator()
        Returns the String that separates option names from option values when parsing command line options.
        Returns:
        the String the parser uses to separate option names from option values
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.separator()
      • setSeparator

        public CommandLine setSeparator​(String separator)
        Sets the String the parser uses to separate option names from option values to the specified value. The separator may also be set declaratively with the CommandLine.Command.separator() annotation attribute.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        separator - the String that separates option names from option values
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.separator(String)
      • setResourceBundle

        public CommandLine setResourceBundle​(ResourceBundle bundle)
        Sets the ResourceBundle containing usage help message strings.

        The specified bundle will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will not be impacted. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        bundle - the ResourceBundle containing usage help message strings
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.6
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Command.resourceBundle(), CommandLine.Model.CommandSpec.resourceBundle(ResourceBundle)
      • setUsageHelpWidth

        public CommandLine setUsageHelpWidth​(int width)
        Sets the maximum width of the usage help message. Longer lines are wrapped.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        width - the maximum width of the usage help message
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.UsageMessageSpec.width(int)
      • getUsageHelpLongOptionsMaxWidth

        public int getUsageHelpLongOptionsMaxWidth()
        Returns the maximum usage help long options column max width to the specified value. This value controls the maximum width of the long options column: any positional parameter labels or long options that are longer than the specified value will overflow into the description column, and cause the description to be displayed on the next line.
        Since:
        4.2
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.UsageMessageSpec.longOptionsMaxWidth()
      • setUsageHelpLongOptionsMaxWidth

        public CommandLine setUsageHelpLongOptionsMaxWidth​(int columnWidth)
        Returns the maximum usage help long options column max width to the specified value. This value controls the maximum width of the long options column: any positional parameter labels or long options that are longer than the specified value will overflow into the description column, and cause the description to be displayed on the next line.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        columnWidth - the new maximum usage help long options column max width. Must be 20 or greater.
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        4.2
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.UsageMessageSpec.longOptionsMaxWidth(int)
      • isUsageHelpAutoWidth

        public boolean isUsageHelpAutoWidth()
        Returns whether picocli should attempt to detect the terminal size and adjust the usage help message width to take the full terminal width. End users may enable this by setting system property "picocli.usage.width" to AUTO, and may disable this by setting this system property to a numeric value. This feature requires Java 7 or greater. The default is false.
        Since:
        4.0
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.UsageMessageSpec.autoWidth()
      • setUsageHelpAutoWidth

        public CommandLine setUsageHelpAutoWidth​(boolean detectTerminalSize)
        Sets whether picocli should attempt to detect the terminal size and adjust the usage help message width to take the full terminal width. The default is false.

        The specified setting will be registered with this CommandLine and the full hierarchy of its subcommands and nested sub-subcommands at the moment this method is called. Subcommands added later will have the default setting. To ensure a setting is applied to all subcommands, call the setter last, after adding subcommands.

        Parameters:
        detectTerminalSize - whether picocli should attempt to detect the terminal size
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        4.0
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.UsageMessageSpec.autoWidth(boolean)
      • getCommandName

        public String getCommandName()
        Returns the command name (also called program name) displayed in the usage help synopsis.
        Returns:
        the command name (also called program name) displayed in the usage
        Since:
        2.0
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.CommandSpec.name()
      • setCommandName

        public CommandLine setCommandName​(String commandName)
        Sets the command name (also called program name) displayed in the usage help synopsis to the specified value. Note that this method only modifies the usage help message, it does not impact parsing behaviour. The command name may also be set declaratively with the CommandLine.Command.name() annotation attribute.
        Parameters:
        commandName - command name (also called program name) displayed in the usage help synopsis
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        2.0
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.CommandSpec.name(String)
      • isExpandAtFiles

        public boolean isExpandAtFiles()
        Returns whether arguments starting with '@' should be treated as the path to an argument file and its contents should be expanded into separate arguments for each line in the specified file. This property is true by default.
        Returns:
        whether "argument files" or @files should be expanded into their content
        Since:
        2.1
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.expandAtFiles()
      • setExpandAtFiles

        public CommandLine setExpandAtFiles​(boolean expandAtFiles)
        Sets whether arguments starting with '@' should be treated as the path to an argument file and its contents should be expanded into separate arguments for each line in the specified file. (true by default.)
        Parameters:
        expandAtFiles - whether "argument files" or @files should be expanded into their content
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        2.1
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.expandAtFiles(boolean)
      • getAtFileCommentChar

        public Character getAtFileCommentChar()
        Returns the character that starts a single-line comment or null if all content of argument files should be interpreted as arguments (without comments). If specified, all characters from the comment character to the end of the line are ignored.
        Returns:
        the character that starts a single-line comment or null. The default is '#'.
        Since:
        3.5
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.atFileCommentChar()
      • setAtFileCommentChar

        public CommandLine setAtFileCommentChar​(Character atFileCommentChar)
        Sets the character that starts a single-line comment or null if all content of argument files should be interpreted as arguments (without comments). If specified, all characters from the comment character to the end of the line are ignored.
        Parameters:
        atFileCommentChar - the character that starts a single-line comment or null. The default is '#'.
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.5
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.atFileCommentChar(Character)
      • isUseSimplifiedAtFiles

        public boolean isUseSimplifiedAtFiles()
        Returns whether to use a simplified argument file format that is compatible with JCommander. In this format, every line (except empty lines and comment lines) is interpreted as a single argument. Arguments containing whitespace do not need to be quoted. When system property "picocli.useSimplifiedAtFiles" is defined, the system property value overrides the programmatically set value.
        Returns:
        whether to use a simplified argument file format. The default is false.
        Since:
        3.9
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.useSimplifiedAtFiles()
      • setUseSimplifiedAtFiles

        public CommandLine setUseSimplifiedAtFiles​(boolean simplifiedAtFiles)
        Sets whether to use a simplified argument file format that is compatible with JCommander. In this format, every line (except empty lines and comment lines) is interpreted as a single argument. Arguments containing whitespace do not need to be quoted. When system property "picocli.useSimplifiedAtFiles" is defined, the system property value overrides the programmatically set value.
        Parameters:
        simplifiedAtFiles - whether to use a simplified argument file format. The default is false.
        Returns:
        this CommandLine object, to allow method chaining
        Since:
        3.9
        See Also:
        CommandLine.Model.ParserSpec.useSimplifiedAtFiles(boolean)
      • defaultFactory

        public static CommandLine.IFactory defaultFactory()
        Returns the default CommandLine.IFactory implementation used if no factory was specified in the CommandLine constructor.

        This implementation has special logic for instantiating Collections and Maps, and otherwise tries to create an instance by invoking the default constructor of the specified class.

        Special logic for instantiating Collections and Maps:

        
         // if class is an interface that extends java.util.Collection, return a new instance of:
         1. List       -> ArrayList
         2. SortedSet  -> TreeSet
         3. Set        -> LinkedHashSet
         4. Queue      -> LinkedList
         5. Collection -> ArrayList
        
         // if extending or implementing java.util.Map:
         1. try invoking the default constructor; return this on success.
         2. if this fails, return a LinkedHashMap
         
        Since:
        4.0
      • tracer

        public static CommandLine.Tracer tracer()
        Returns the Tracer used internally for printing internal debug statements.
        Returns:
        the Tracer used internally for printing internal debug statements
        Since:
        4.7.6