pub struct Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r> { /* private fields */ }Expand description
The abstract representation of a command line argument used by the consumer of the library. Used to set all the options and relationships that define a valid argument for the program.
This struct is used by the library consumer and describes the command line arguments for their program. Then evaluates the settings the consumer provided and determines the concret argument type to use when parsing.
There are two methods for constructing Args, using the builder pattern and setting options
manually, or using a usage string which is far less verbose. You can also use a combination
of the two methods to achieve the best of both worlds.
§Example
// Using the traditional builder pattern and setting each option manually
Arg::with_name("conifg")
.short("c")
.long("config")
.takes_value(true)
.help("Provides a config file to myprog")
// Using a usage string (setting a similar argument to the one above)
Arg::from_usage("-i --input=[input] 'Provides an input file to the program'")Implementations§
source§impl<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
impl<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
sourcepub fn new(n: &'n str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn new(n: &'n str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
WARNING: This function is deprecated. Use Arg::with_name() instead.
Creates a new instace of Arg using a unique string name.
The name will be used by the library consumer to get information about
whether or not the argument was used at runtime.
NOTE: in the case of arguments that take values (i.e. takes_value(true))
and positional arguments (i.e. those without a - or --) the name will also
be displayed when the user prints the usage/help information of the program.
§Example
Arg::new("conifg")sourcepub fn with_name(n: &'n str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn with_name(n: &'n str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Creates a new instace of Arg using a unique string name.
The name will be used by the library consumer to get information about
whether or not the argument was used at runtime.
NOTE: in the case of arguments that take values (i.e. takes_value(true))
and positional arguments (i.e. those without a - or --) the name will also
be displayed when the user prints the usage/help information of the program.
§Example
Arg::with_name("conifg")sourcepub fn from_usage(u: &'n str) -> Arg<'n, 'n, 'n, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn from_usage(u: &'n str) -> Arg<'n, 'n, 'n, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Creates a new instace of Arg from a usage string. Allows creation of basic settings
for Arg (i.e. everything except relational rules). The syntax is flexible, but there are
some rules to follow.
NOTE: only properties which you wish to set must be present
- Name (arguments with a
longor that take a value can ommit this if desired), use[]for non-required arguments, or<>for required arguments. - Short preceded by a
- - Long preceded by a
--(this may be used as the name, if the name is omitted. If the name is not omittied, the name takes precedence over thelong) - Value (this can be used as the name if the name is not manually specified. If the name
is manually specified, it takes precedence. If this value is used as the name, it uses
the same
[]and<>requirement specification rules. If it is not used as the name, it still needs to be surrounded by either[]or<>but there is no requirement effect, as the requirement rule is determined by the real name. This value may follow theshortorlong, it doesn’t matter. If it follows thelong, it may follow either a=orthere is no difference, just personal preference. If this follows ashortit can only be after a) i.e.-c [name],--config [name],--config=[name], etc. - Multiple specifier
...(the...may follow the name,short,long, or value without aspace) i.e.<name>... -c,--config <name>...,[name] -c..., etc. - The help info surrounded by
's (single quotes) - The index of a positional argument will be the next available index (you don’t need to
specify one) i.e. all arguments without a
shortorlongwill be treated as positional - If the value names are all the same, and their multiple ones (i.e
-o <val> <val>) they are counted and used as the number of values. If they are different, they are used as the value names (i.e.--opt <file> <mode>). In this case, if no name was specified prior to the value names, the long is used as the name by which to access the argument.
§Example
.args(vec![
// A option argument with a long, named "conf" (note: because the name was specified
// the portion after the long can be called anything, only the first name will be displayed
// to the user. Also, requirement is set with the *name*, so the portion after the long
// could be either <> or [] and it wouldn't matter, so long as it's one of them. Had the
// name been omitted, the name would have been derived from the portion after the long and
// those rules would have mattered)
Arg::from_usage("[conf] --config=[c] 'a required file for the configuration'"),
// A flag with a short, a long, named "debug", and accepts multiple values
Arg::from_usage("-d --debug... 'turns on debugging information"),
// A required positional argument named "input"
Arg::from_usage("<input> 'the input file to use'")
])sourcepub fn short(self, s: &str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn short(self, s: &str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Sets the short version of the argument without the preceding -.
By default clap automatically assigns v and h to display version and help information
respectively. You may use v or h for your own purposes, in which case clap simply
will not assign those to the displaying of version or help.
NOTE: Any leading - characters will be stripped, and only the first
non - chacter will be used as the short version
§Example
.short("c")sourcepub fn long(self, l: &'l str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn long(self, l: &'l str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Sets the long version of the argument without the preceding --.
By default clap automatically assigns version and help to display version and help
information respectively. You may use version or help for your own purposes, in which
case clap simply will not assign those to the displaying of version or help automatically,
and you will have to do so manually.
NOTE: Any leading - characters will be stripped
§Example
.long("config")sourcepub fn help(self, h: &'h str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn help(self, h: &'h str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Sets the help text of the argument that will be displayed to the user when they print the usage/help information.
§Example
.help("The config file used by the myprog")sourcepub fn required(self, r: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn required(self, r: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Sets whether or not the argument is required by default. Required by default means it is required, when no other mutually exlusive rules have been evaluated. Mutually exclusive rules take precedence over being required by default.
NOTE: Flags (i.e. not positional, or arguments that take values) cannot be required by default. when they print the usage/help information.
#Example
.required(true)sourcepub fn mutually_excludes(self, name: &'r str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn mutually_excludes(self, name: &'r str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
WARNING: This method is deprecated. Use .conflicts_with() instead.
Sets a mutually exclusive argument by name. I.e. when using this argument, the following argument can’t be present.
NOTE: Mutually exclusive rules take precedence over being required by default. Mutually exclusive rules only need to be set for one of the two arguments, they do not need to be set for each.
§Example
.mutually_excludes("debug")sourcepub fn mutually_excludes_all<T, I>(
self,
names: I,
) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn mutually_excludes_all<T, I>( self, names: I, ) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
WARNING: This method is deprecated. Use conflicts_with_all() instead.
Sets a mutually exclusive arguments by names. I.e. when using this argument, the following argument can’t be present.
NOTE: Mutually exclusive rules take precedence over being required by default. Mutually exclusive rules only need to be set for one of the two arguments, they do not need to be set for each.
§Example
let conf_excludes = ["debug", "input"];
.mutually_excludes_all(&conf_excludes)sourcepub fn conflicts_with(self, name: &'r str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn conflicts_with(self, name: &'r str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Sets a mutually exclusive argument by name. I.e. when using this argument, the following argument can’t be present.
NOTE: Mutually exclusive rules take precedence over being required by default. Mutually exclusive rules only need to be set for one of the two arguments, they do not need to be set for each.
§Example
.conflicts_with("debug")sourcepub fn conflicts_with_all<T, I>(self, names: I) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn conflicts_with_all<T, I>(self, names: I) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Sets mutually exclusive arguments by names. I.e. when using this argument, the following argument can’t be present.
NOTE: Mutually exclusive rules take precedence over being required by default. Mutually exclusive rules only need to be set for one of the two arguments, they do not need to be set for each.
§Example
let config_conflicts = ["debug", "input"];
.conflicts_with_all(&config_conflicts)sourcepub fn requires(self, name: &'r str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn requires(self, name: &'r str) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Sets an argument by name that is required when this one is presnet I.e. when using this argument, the following argument must be present.
NOTE: Mutually exclusive rules take precedence over being required
§Example
.requires("debug")sourcepub fn requires_all<T, I>(self, names: I) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn requires_all<T, I>(self, names: I) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Sets arguments by names that are required when this one is presnet I.e. when using this argument, the following arguments must be present.
NOTE: Mutually exclusive rules take precedence over being required by default.
§Example
let config_reqs = ["debug", "input"];
.requires_all(&config_reqs)sourcepub fn takes_value(self, tv: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn takes_value(self, tv: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Specifies that the argument takes an additional value at run time.
NOTE: When setting this to true the name of the argument
will be used when printing the help/usage information to the user.
§Example
.takes_value(true)sourcepub fn index(self, idx: u8) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn index(self, idx: u8) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Specifies the index of a positional argument starting at 1.
NOTE: When setting this, any short or long values you set
are ignored as positional arguments cannot have a short or long.
Also, the name will be used when printing the help/usage information
to the user.
§Example
.index(1)sourcepub fn multiple(self, multi: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn multiple(self, multi: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Specifies if the flag may appear more than once such as for multiple debugging
levels (as an example). -ddd for three levels of debugging, or -d -d -d.
When this is set to true you receive the number of occurrences the user supplied
of a particular flag at runtime.
NOTE: When setting this, any takes_value or index values you set
are ignored as flags cannot have a values or an index.
§Example
.multiple(true)sourcepub fn global(self, g: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn global(self, g: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Specifies that an argument can be matched to all child subcommands.
NOTE: Global arguments only propagate down, not up (to parent commands)
NOTE: Global arguments cannot be required.
NOTE: Global arguments, when matched, only exist in the command’s matches that they
were matched to. For example, if you defined a --flag global argument in the top most
parent command, but the user supplied the arguments top cmd1 cmd2 --flag only cmd2’s
ArgMatches would return true if tested for .is_present("flag").
§Example
.global(true)sourcepub fn empty_values(self, ev: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn empty_values(self, ev: bool) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Allows an argument to accept explicit empty values. An empty value must be specified at the
command line with an explicit "", or ''
NOTE: Defaults to true (Explicit empty values are allowed)
§Example
.empty_values(true)sourcepub fn possible_values<T, I>(self, names: I) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn possible_values<T, I>(self, names: I) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Specifies a list of possible values for this argument. At runtime, clap verifies that only one of the specified values was used, or fails with a usage string.
NOTE: This setting only applies to options and positional arguments
§Example
let mode_vals = ["fast", "slow"];
.possible_values(&mode_vals)sourcepub fn number_of_values(self, qty: u8) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn number_of_values(self, qty: u8) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Specifies how many values are required to satisfy this argument. For example, if you had a
-f <file> argument where you wanted exactly 3 ‘files’ you would set
.number_of_values(3), and this argument wouldn’t be satisfied unless the user provided
3 and only 3 values.
NOTE: qty must be > 1
NOTE: Does not require .multiple(true) to be set. Setting .multiple(true) would
allow -f <file> <file> <file> -f <file> <file> <file> where as not setting
.multiple(true) would only allow one occurrence of this argument.
§Example
.number_of_values(3)sourcepub fn max_values(self, qty: u8) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn max_values(self, qty: u8) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Specifies the maximum number of values are for this argument. For example, if you had a
-f <file> argument where you wanted up to 3 ‘files’ you would set
.max_values(3), and this argument would be satisfied if the user provided, 1, 2, or 3
values.
NOTE: qty must be > 1
NOTE: This implicity sets .multiple(true)
§Example
.max_values(3)sourcepub fn min_values(self, qty: u8) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn min_values(self, qty: u8) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Specifies the minimum number of values are for this argument. For example, if you had a
-f <file> argument where you wanted at least 2 ‘files’ you would set
.min_values(2), and this argument would be satisfied if the user provided, 2 or more
values.
NOTE: This implicity sets .multiple(true)
NOTE: qty must be > 0
NOTE: qty must be > 0. If you wish to have an argument with 0 or more values prefer
two separate arguments (a flag, and an option with multiple values).
§Example
.min_values(2)sourcepub fn value_names<T, I>(self, names: I) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
pub fn value_names<T, I>(self, names: I) -> Arg<'n, 'l, 'h, 'g, 'p, 'r>
Specifies names for values of option arguments. These names are cosmetic only, used for
help and usage strings only. The names are not used to access arguments. The values of
the arguments are accessed in numeric order (i.e. if you specify two names one and two
one will be the first matched value, two will be the second).
NOTE: This implicitly sets .number_of_values() so there is no need to set that, but
be aware that the number of “names” you set for the values, will be the exact number of
values required to satisfy this argument
NOTE: Does not require .multiple(true) to be set. Setting .multiple(true) would
allow -f <file> <file> <file> -f <file> <file> <file> where as not setting
.multiple(true) would only allow one occurrence of this argument.
§Example
let val_names = ["one", "two"];
// ...
.value_names(&val_names)