ArgsParser

A command line arguments parser in .NET Core.

How to use

Register the arguments you want

var argsParser = new ArgumentsParser();
argsParser.AddArgument(new Argument("-r", typeof(int), "--req", "A required argument."));
argsParser.AddArgument(new Argument("-o", typeof(string), "--opt", "An optional argument that doesn't have a value.", false, true));

This will tell the ArgumentsParser that -r, --req is a required argument that has a value of type int (e.g. -r 3) and that -o, --opt is an optional argument that doesn't have a value (e.g. -o).

Parse the arguments

All you have to do is call the Parse method with the string[] args given to you on the main method.

try
{
    var argsParsed = argsParser.Parse(args);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
	// You'll probably want to exit if the parsing fails
	Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
    Environment.Exit(1);
}

The parsing will fail if:

• A required argument is missing.
• An argument with HasValue = true but no value was provided.
• An error occured when trying to convert the value to the specified type.

Using the arguments

To use the arguments you have 2 main methods:

// GetArgumentValue needs the argument's name
int t = argsParsed.GetArgumentValue<int>("-t");

// If you have an argument with HasValue = false
if (argsParsed.HasArgument("-o"))
    Console.WriteLine("-o, --o was specified!");

Help

ArgsParser automatically provides a help argument:

dotnet run -- yourapp -h
dotnet run -- yourapp --help

Available arguments:
	-h, --help               Shows the available arguments.
	-r, --req                A required argument.
	-o, --opt (optional)     An optional argument that doesn't have a value.

This will print a nicely formated message containing the available arguments and will not parse anything else and return null.