System.CommandLine overview - .NET (original) (raw)

The System.CommandLine library provides functionality commonly needed by command-line apps, such as parsing command-line input and displaying help text.

Apps that use System.CommandLine include the .NET CLI, additional tools, and many global and local tools.

For app developers, the library:

• Lets you focus on writing your app code, since you don't have to write code to parse command-line input or produce a help page.
• Lets you test app code independently of input parsing code.
• Is trim-friendly, making it a good choice for developing fast, lightweight, AOT-capable CLI apps.

Use of the library also benefits app users:

• It ensures that command-line input is parsed consistently according to POSIX or Windows conventions.
• It automatically supports tab completion and response files.

NuGet package

The library is available as a NuGet package: System.CommandLine.

Next steps

To get started with System.CommandLine, see the following resources:

• Tutorial: Get started with System.CommandLine
• Syntax overview: commands, options, and arguments

To learn more, see the following resources:

• How to parse and invoke the result
• How to customize parsing and validation
• How to configure the parser
• How to customize help
• How to enable and customize tab completion
• Command-line design guidance
• Migration guide to 2.0.0-beta5
• System.CommandLine API reference