ezargs

Lightweight, zero-setup dynamic Python command line argument parsing. ezargs is extremely simple (< 10 SLoC) and pushes as much of the parsing logic into the user's hands as possible. I wrote ezargs because I wanted an easier way to set up ephemeral, flexible, or just plain easy CLI arguments for Python scripts. I just wanted to be able to pass whatever I wanted and grab it in the code without having to declare fields beforehand.

The only strict rule pertains to the format of arguments, which is as follows:

• Arguments must be key-value pairs in the format: key=value
  • eg. python my_scripy.py duration=5 max_shift=12 name=foo secret='ab!@#3=e32' parses the arguments into: {'duration': '5', 'max_shift': '12', 'name': 'foo', 'secret': 'ab!@#3=e32'}
  • Subsequent = appearances in the value are allowed.
    • eg. name=fo=o -> {'name': 'fo=o'}
  • Values with spaces must be wrapped in quotes. In general, strings should be sent with quotes (single or double).
    • eg. name="John Appleseed" -> {'name': 'John Appleseed'}

Type conversions, presence checks, etc. are up to the user to handle. All values are parsed as strings.

Installation:

• Install ezargs with pip install ezargs

Simple Code Recipe:

from ezargs import parse_args

def main(args: dict) -> None:
   max_attempts = int(args.get("max-attempts", 5))  # default value with type conversion
   if not (filename := args.get("filename")):
      # presence check
      raise Exception("missing file name!")
   print(f"{filename=}, {max_attempts=}")


if __name__ == "__main__":
   args: dict = parse_args()
   main(args)