Sub commands

Sub commands can be added using the .command() method. The first argument specifies the name and optionally arguments for your sub command. The arguments may be <required> or [optional] and the last argument may also be variadic. The second argument of the .command() method is optional and can be either the command description or an instance of a Command class. The description can be also defined with the .description() method.

i

❗ The .command() method returns the instance of the added command. If you call the .action() method after the .command() method is called, the action will be registered to the sub command and not to your main command. You can use the .reset() method to get the instance of the parent command back.

There are two ways to specify sub-commands with the .command() method which are explained in the following section.

Chained commands

Sub-command implemented using the .command() method with an action handler.

import { Command } from "@cliffy/command";

await new Command()
  .command(
    "clone <source:string> [destination:string]",
    "Clone a repository into a newly created directory.",
  )
  .option("-r, --recursive", "Clone recursive.")
  .action(({ recursive }, source: string, destination?: string) => {
    console.log(
      "clone %s to %s",
      source,
      destination,
      recursive ? " (recursive)" : "",
    );
  })
  .parse(Deno.args);Copy

Command instance

The command method accepts as second argument a instance of a command. This way you can move your sub-commands into different files.

import { Command } from "@cliffy/command";

const clone = new Command()
  .arguments("<source:string> [destination:string]")
  .description("Clone a repository into a newly created directory.")
  .action((options: any, source: string, destination?: string) => {
    console.log("clone command called");
  });

await new Command()
  .command("clone", clone)
  .parse(Deno.args);Copy

Command Literal Arguments

For arguments with -- the following can be used.

import { Command } from "@cliffy/command";

await new Command()
  .name("my-command")
  .arguments("[...args:string]")
  .option("--foo", "Foo option.")
  .action(function (options, ...args: Array<string>) {
    console.log("Options:", options);
    console.log("Arguments:", args);
    console.log("Literal arguments:", this.getLiteralArgs());
  })
  .parse();Copy

$ my-command --foo bar -- --baz
Options: { foo: true }
Arguments: [ "bar" ]
Literal arguments: [ "--baz" ]Copy

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