Vert.x Core provides an API for parsing command line arguments passed to programs. It’s also able to print help messages detailing the options available for a command line tool. Even if such features are far from the Vert.x core topics, this API is used in the `Launcher` class that you can use in fat-jar and in the `vertx` command line tools. In addition, it’s polyglot (can be used from any supported language) and is used in Vert.x Shell.

Vert.x CLI provides a model to describe your command line interface, but also a parser. This parser supports different types of syntax:

- POSIX like options (ie. `tar -zxvf foo.tar.gz`)

- GNU like long options (ie. `du --human-readable --max-depth=1`)

- Java like properties (ie. `java -Djava.awt.headless=true -Djava.net.useSystemProxies=true Foo`)

- Short options with value attached (ie. `gcc -O2 foo.c`)

- Long options with single hyphen (ie. `ant -projecthelp`)

Using the CLI api is a 3-steps process:

1. The definition of the command line interface

2. The parsing of the user command line

3. The query / interrogation

### Definition Stage

Each command line interface must define the set of options and arguments that will be used. It also requires a name. The CLI API uses the `Option` and `Argument` classes to describe options and arguments:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("copy")
        .setSummary("A command line interface to copy files.")
        .addOption(new Option()
            .setLongName("directory")
            .setShortName("R")
            .setDescription("enables directory support")
            .setFlag(true))
        .addArgument(new Argument()
            .setIndex(0)
            .setDescription("The source")
            .setArgName("source"))
        .addArgument(new Argument()
            .setIndex(1)
            .setDescription("The destination")
            .setArgName("target"));

As you can see, you can create a new `CLI` using `CLI.create`. The passed string is the name of the CLI. Once created you can set the summary and description. The summary is intended to be short (one line), while the description can contain more details. Each option and argument are also added on the `CLI` object using the `addArgument` and `addOption` methods.

#### Options

An `Option` is a command line parameter identified by a key present in the user command line. Options must have at least a long name or a short name. Long name are generally used using a `--` prefix, while short names are used with a single `-`. Names are case-sensitive; however, case-insensitive name matching will be used during the Query / Interrogation Stage if no exact match is found. Options can get a description displayed in the usage (see below). Options can receive 0, 1 or several values. An option receiving 0 values is a `flag`, and must be declared using `setFlag`. By default, options receive a single value, however, you can configure the option to receive several values using `setMultiValued`:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("some-name")
        .setSummary("A command line interface illustrating the options valuation.")
        .addOption(new Option()
            .setLongName("flag").setShortName("f").setFlag(true).setDescription("a flag"))
        .addOption(new Option()
            .setLongName("single").setShortName("s").setDescription("a single-valued option"))
        .addOption(new Option()
            .setLongName("multiple").setShortName("m").setMultiValued(true)
            .setDescription("a multi-valued option"));

Options can be marked as mandatory. A mandatory option not set in the user command line throws an exception during the parsing:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("some-name")
        .addOption(new Option()
            .setLongName("mandatory")
            .setRequired(true)
            .setDescription("a mandatory option"));

Non-mandatory options can have a default value. This value would be used if the user does not set the option in the command line:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("some-name")
        .addOption(new Option()
            .setLongName("optional")
            .setDefaultValue("hello")
            .setDescription("an optional option with a default value"));

An option can be hidden using the `setHidden` method. Hidden option are not listed in the usage, but can still be used in the user command line (for power-users).

If the option value is constrained to a fixed set, you can set the different acceptable choices:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("some-name")
        .addOption(new Option()
            .setLongName("color")
            .setDefaultValue("green")
            .addChoice("blue").addChoice("red").addChoice("green")
            .setDescription("a color"));

Options can also be instantiated from their JSON form.

#### Arguments

Unlike options, arguments do not have a key and are identified by their index. For example, in `java com.acme.Foo`, `com.acme.Foo` is an argument.

Arguments do not have a name, there are identified using a 0-based index. The first parameter has the index `0`:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("some-name")
        .addArgument(new Argument()
            .setIndex(0)
            .setDescription("the first argument")
            .setArgName("arg1"))
        .addArgument(new Argument()
            .setIndex(1)
            .setDescription("the second argument")
            .setArgName("arg2"));

If you don’t set the argument indexes, it computes it automatically by using the declaration order.

    CLI cli = CLI.create("some-name")
        // will have the index 0
        .addArgument(new Argument()
            .setDescription("the first argument")
            .setArgName("arg1"))
        // will have the index 1
        .addArgument(new Argument()
            .setDescription("the second argument")
            .setArgName("arg2"));

The `argName` is optional and used in the usage message.

As options, `Argument` can:

- be hidden using `setHidden`

- be mandatory using `setRequired`

- have a default value using `setDefaultValue`

- receive several values using `setMultiValued` - only the last argument can be multi-valued.

Arguments can also be instantiated from their JSON form.

#### Usage generation

Once your `CLI` instance is configured, you can generate the usage message:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("copy")
        .setSummary("A command line interface to copy files.")
        .addOption(new Option()
            .setLongName("directory")
            .setShortName("R")
            .setDescription("enables directory support")
            .setFlag(true))
        .addArgument(new Argument()
            .setIndex(0)
            .setDescription("The source")
            .setArgName("source"))
        .addArgument(new Argument()
            .setIndex(0)
            .setDescription("The destination")
            .setArgName("target"));

    StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
    cli.usage(builder);

It generates a usage message like this one:

    Usage: copy [-R] source target

    A command line interface to copy files.

     -R,--directory   enables directory support

If you need to tune the usage message, check the `UsageMessageFormatter` class.

### Parsing Stage

Once your `CLI` instance is configured, you can parse the user command line to evaluate each option and argument:

    CommandLine commandLine = cli.parse(userCommandLineArguments);

The `parse` method returns a `CommandLine` object containing the values. By default, it validates the user command line and checks that each mandatory options and arguments have been set as well as the number of values received by each option. You can disable the validation by passing `false` as second parameter of `parse`. This is useful if you want to check an argument or option is present even if the parsed command line is invalid.

You can check whether or not the `CommandLine` is valid using `isValid`.

### Query / Interrogation Stage

Once parsed, you can retrieve the values of the options and arguments from the `CommandLine` object returned by the `parse` method:

    CommandLine commandLine = cli.parse(userCommandLineArguments);
    String opt = commandLine.getOptionValue("my-option");
    boolean flag = commandLine.isFlagEnabled("my-flag");
    String arg0 = commandLine.getArgumentValue(0);

One of your options can be marked as "help". If a user command line enabled a "help" option, the validation won’t fail, but you have the opportunity to check if the user asks for help:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("test")
        .addOption(
            new Option().setLongName("help").setShortName("h").setFlag(true).setHelp(true))
        .addOption(
            new Option().setLongName("mandatory").setRequired(true));

    CommandLine line = cli.parse(Collections.singletonList("-h"));

    // The parsing does not fail and let you do:
    if (!line.isValid() && line.isAskingForHelp()) {
      StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
      cli.usage(builder);
      stream.print(builder.toString());
    }

### Typed options and arguments

The described `Option` and `Argument` classes are untyped, meaning that the only get String values. `TypedOption` and `TypedArgument` let you specify a type, so the (String) raw value is converted to the specified type.

Instead of `Option` and `Argument`, use `TypedOption` and `TypedArgument` in the `CLI` definition:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("copy")
        .setSummary("A command line interface to copy files.")
        .addOption(new TypedOption<Boolean>()
            .setType(Boolean.class)
            .setLongName("directory")
            .setShortName("R")
            .setDescription("enables directory support")
            .setFlag(true))
        .addArgument(new TypedArgument<File>()
            .setType(File.class)
            .setIndex(0)
            .setDescription("The source")
            .setArgName("source"))
        .addArgument(new TypedArgument<File>()
            .setType(File.class)
            .setIndex(0)
            .setDescription("The destination")
            .setArgName("target"));

Then you can retrieve the converted values as follows:

    CommandLine commandLine = cli.parse(userCommandLineArguments);
    boolean flag = commandLine.getOptionValue("R");
    File source = commandLine.getArgumentValue("source");
    File target = commandLine.getArgumentValue("target");

The vert.x CLI is able to convert to classes:

- having a constructor with a single `String` argument, such as `File` or `JsonObject`

- with a static `from` or `fromString` method

- with a static `valueOf` method, such as primitive types and enumeration

In addition, you can implement your own `Converter` and instruct the CLI to use this converter:

    CLI cli = CLI.create("some-name")
        .addOption(new TypedOption<Person>()
            .setType(Person.class)
            .setConverter(new PersonConverter())
            .setLongName("person"));

For booleans, the boolean values are evaluated to `true`: `on`, `yes`, `1`, `true`.

If one of your option has an `enum` as type, it computes the set of choices automatically.

### Using annotations

You can also define your CLI using annotations. Definition is done using annotation on the class and on setter methods:

    @Name("some-name")
    @Summary("some short summary.")
    @Description("some long description")
    public class AnnotatedCli {

     private boolean flag;
     private String name;
     private String arg;

    @Option(shortName = "f", flag = true)
    public void setFlag(boolean flag) {
      this.flag = flag;
    }

    @Option(longName = "name")
    public void setName(String name) {
      this.name = name;
    }

    @Argument(index = 0)
    public void setArg(String arg) {
     this.arg = arg;
    }
    }

Once annotated, you can define the `CLI` and inject the values using:

    CLI cli = CLI.create(AnnotatedCli.class);
    CommandLine commandLine = cli.parse(userCommandLineArguments);
    AnnotatedCli instance = new AnnotatedCli();
    CLIConfigurator.inject(commandLine, instance);