diff --git a/config.nims b/config.nims
index aabef2b..b471031 100644
--- a/config.nims
+++ b/config.nims
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ task docs, "Deploy doc html + search index to public/ directory":
   when defined(clean):
     echo fmt"clearing {deployDir}"
     rmDir deployDir
-  for module in ["cligen", "chooser", "logging", "cli", "parseopt3"]:
+  for module in ["cligen", "chooser", "logging", "hwylcli", "parseopt3"]:
     selfExec fmt"{docCmd} --docRoot:{getCurrentDir()}/src/ src/hwylterm/{module}"
   selfExec fmt"{docCmd} --project  --project src/{pkgName}.nim"
   docFixup(deployDir, pkgName)
diff --git a/src/hwylterm.nim b/src/hwylterm.nim
index 593702d..a18d4b2 100644
--- a/src/hwylterm.nim
+++ b/src/hwylterm.nim
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
   see also these utility modules:
 
-  - [cli](./hwylterm/cli.html)
+  - [hwylcli](./hwylterm/hwylcli.html)
   - [cligen adapter](./hwylterm/cligen.html), requires [cligen](https://github.com/c-blake/cligen)
   - [chooser](./hwylterm/chooser.html)
   - [logging](./hwylterm/logging.html)
diff --git a/src/hwylterm/bbansi.nim b/src/hwylterm/bbansi.nim
index fab0ff6..13b84c5 100644
--- a/src/hwylterm/bbansi.nim
+++ b/src/hwylterm/bbansi.nim
@@ -254,7 +254,6 @@ func bb*(s: string): BbString =
     else:
       next
 
-  
   result.closeFinalSpan
 
 proc bb*(s: string, style: string): BbString =
@@ -263,7 +262,9 @@ proc bb*(s: string, style: string): BbString =
 proc bb*(s: string, style: Color256): BbString =
   bb(s, $style)
 
-proc `&`*(x: BbString, y: string): BbString =
+proc bb*(s: BbString): BbString = s
+
+func `&`*(x: BbString, y: string): BbString =
   result = x
   result.plain &= y
   result.spans.add BbSpan(styles: @[], slice: [x.plain.len, result.plain.len - 1])
@@ -343,30 +344,9 @@ proc bbEcho*(args: varargs[string, `$`]) {.raises: [IOError]} =
 
 # NOTE: could move to standlone modules in the tools/ directory
 when isMainModule:
-  import ./[cli, parseopt3]
-
+  import ./[hwylcli]
   const version = staticExec "git describe --tags --always --dirty=-dev"
-
-  proc writeHelp() =
-    let help = $newHwylCli(
-      "[bold]bbansi[/] [[[green]args...[/]] [[[faint]-h|-v[/]]",
-      """
-bbansi "[[yellow] yellow text!"
-  -> [yellow] yellow text![/]
-bbansi "[[bold red] bold red text[[/] plain text..."
-  -> [bold red] bold red text[/] plain text...
-bbansi "[[red]some red[[/red] but all italic" --style:italic
-  -> [italic][red]some red[/red] but all italic[/italic]
-""",
-      [
-        ("h", "help", "show this help"),
-        ("v", "version", "show version"),
-        ("s", "style", "set style for string"),
-      ]
-    )
-    echo help; quit 0
-
-  proc testCard() =
+  proc showTestCard() =
     for style in [
       "bold", "faint", "italic", "underline", "blink", "reverse", "conceal", "strike"
     ]:
@@ -379,52 +359,39 @@ bbansi "[[red]some red[[/red] but all italic" --style:italic
       echo "on ", color, " -> ", fmt"[on {color}]****".bb
     quit(QuitSuccess)
 
-  proc debug(bbs: BbString): string =
+  proc debugBb(bbs: BbString): string =
     echo "bbString("
     echo "  plain: ", bbs.plain
     echo "  spans: ", bbs.spans
     echo "  escaped: ", escape($bbs)
     echo ")"
 
-  proc writeVersion() =
-    echo bbfmt"[yellow]bbansi version[/][red] ->[/] [bold]{version}[/]"
-    quit 0
-
-  var
-    strArgs: seq[string]
-    style: string
-    showDebug: bool
-  var p = initOptParser(
-    shortNoVal = {'h','v'},
-    longNoVal = @["help", "version", "testCard"]
-  )
-  for kind, key, val in p.getopt():
-    case kind
-    of cmdError: quit($(bb"[red]cli error[/]: " & p.message), 1)
-    of cmdEnd: assert(false) 
-    of cmdShortOption, cmdLongOption:
-      case key
-      of "testCard"    : testCard()
-      of "help"   , "h": writeHelp()
-      of "version", "v": writeVersion()
-      of "style"  , "s":
-        if val == "":
-          bbEcho "[red]ERROR[/]: expected value for -s/--style"
-          quit(QuitFailure)
-        style = val
-      of "debug":
-        showDebug = true
-      else:
-        bbEcho "[yellow]warning[/]: unexpected option/value -> ", key, ", ", val
-    of cmdArgument: strArgs.add key
-  if strArgs.len == 0: 
-    writeHelp()
-  for arg in strArgs:
-    let styled =
-      if style != "":
-        arg.bb(style)
-      else:
-        arg.bb
-    echo styled
-    if showDebug:
-      echo debug(styled)
+  hwylCli:
+    name "bbansi"
+    settings NoArgsShowHelp
+    usage "[bold]bbansi[/] [[[green]args...[/]] [[[faint]-h|-V[/]]"
+    description """
+    bbansi "[[yellow] yellow text!"
+      -> [yellow] yellow text![/]
+    bbansi "[[bold red] bold red text[[/] plain text..."
+      -> [bold red] bold red text[/] plain text...
+    bbansi "[[red]some red[[/red] but all italic" --style:italic
+      -> [italic][red]some red[/red] but all italic[/italic]
+    """
+    version bbfmt"[yellow]bbansi version[/][red] ->[/] [bold]{version}[/]"
+    hidden debug, testCard
+    flags:
+      debug:
+        T bool
+      testCard:
+        T bool
+      style:
+        ? "set style for string"
+        - "s"
+    run:
+      if testCard: showTestCard()
+      for arg in args:
+        let styled = arg.bb(style)
+        echo styled
+        if debug:
+          echo debugBb(styled)
diff --git a/src/hwylterm/chooser.nim b/src/hwylterm/chooser.nim
index c5b5808..563cff1 100644
--- a/src/hwylterm/chooser.nim
+++ b/src/hwylterm/chooser.nim
@@ -127,56 +127,37 @@ proc choose*[T](things: openArray[T], height: Natural = 6): seq[T] =
 
 
 when isMainModule:
-  import ./[cli, parseopt3]
-
-  proc writeHelp() =
-    echo newHwylCli(
-      "[bold]hwylchoose[/] [[[green]args...[/]] [[[faint]-h[/]]",
-      """
-hwylchoose a b c d
-hwylchoose a,b,c,d -s ,
-hwylchoose a,b,c,d --seperator ","
-""",
-      [
-        ("h", "help", "show this help"),
-        ("s", "seperator", "seperator to split items"),
-      ]
-    )
-
-  var
-    posArgs: seq[string]
-    sep: string
-  var p = initOptParser(
-    shortNoVal = {'h'}, longNoVal = @["help", "demo"]
-  )
-  for kind, key, val in p.getopt():
-    case kind
-    of cmdError: quit($(bb"[red]cli error[/]: " & p.message), 1)
-    of cmdEnd: assert false
-    of cmdShortOption, cmdLongOption:
-      case key
-      of "help", "h":
-        writeHelp(); quit 0
-      of "demo":
-        posArgs &= LowercaseLetters.toSeq().mapIt($it)
-      of "seperator","s":
-        if val == "":
-          echo bb"[red]ERROR[/]: expected value for --seperator"
-          quit QuitFailure
-        sep = val
+  import ./[hwylcli]
+  hwylcli:
+    name "hwylchoose"
+    settings NoArgsShowHelp
+    usage "[bold]hwylchoose[/] [[[green]args...[/]] [[[faint]-h[/]]"
+    description """
+    hwylchoose a b c d
+    hwylchoose a,b,c,d -s ,
+    hwylchoose a,b,c,d --seperator ","
+    hwylchoose --demo
+    """
+    hidden demo
+    flags:
+      demo:
+        T bool
+      separator:
+        help "separator to split items"
+        short "s"
+    run:
+      var items: seq[string]
+      if demo:
+        items &= LowercaseLetters.toSeq().mapIt($it)
       else:
-        echo bb"[yellow]warning[/]: unexpected option/value -> ", key, ", ", val
-    of cmdArgument:
-      posArgs.add key
-  if posArgs.len == 0: quit "expected values to choose"
-  var items: seq[string]
-  if sep != "":
-    if posArgs.len != 1: quit "only pass one positional arg when using --sep"
-    items = posArgs[0].split(sep).mapIt(strip(it))
-  else:
-    items = posArgs
-  let item = choose(items)
-  echo "selected: ", item
+        if separator != "":
+          if args.len != 1: quit "only pass one positional arg when using --separator"
+          items = args[0].split(separator).mapIt(strip(it))
+        else:
+          items = args
+
+      let item = choose(items)
+      echo "selected: ", item
 
 
 
diff --git a/src/hwylterm/cli.nim b/src/hwylterm/cli.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 58e3457..0000000
--- a/src/hwylterm/cli.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,85 +0,0 @@
-##[
-  # Cli
-]##
-
-import std/[strutils]
-import ./bbansi
-
-type
-  HwylFlag = tuple
-    short, long, description = ""
-  HwylCliStyles* = object
-    hdr = "b cyan"
-    shortFlag = "yellow"
-    longFlag = "magenta"
-    descFlag = ""
-  HwylCli* = object
-    cmd*: string
-    usage*: string
-    flags*: seq[HwylFlag]
-    styles*: HwylCliStyles
-    shortArgLen, longArgLen, descArgLen: int
-
-
-func newHwylCli*(
-  cmd = "",
-  usage = "",
-  flags: openArray[HwylFlag] = @[],
-  styles = HwylCliStyles()
-): HwylCli =
-  result.cmd = cmd
-  result.usage = usage
-  result.flags = @flags
-  result.styles = styles
-  for f in flags:
-    result.shortArgLen = max(result.shortArgLen, f.short.len)
-    result.longArgLen  = max(result.longArgLen, f.long.len)
-    result.descArgLen  = max(result.descArgLen, f.description.len)
-
-
-func flagHelp(cli: HwylCli, f: HwylFlag): string =
-  result.add "  "
-  if f.short != "":
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.shortFlag & "]"
-    result.add "-" & f.short.alignLeft(cli.shortArgLen)
-    result.add "[/]"
-  else:
-    result.add " ".repeat(1 + cli.shortArgLen)
-
-  result.add " "
-  if f.long != "":
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.longFlag & "]"
-    result.add "--" & f.long.alignLeft(cli.longArgLen)
-    result.add "[/]"
-  else:
-    result.add " ".repeat(2 + cli.longArgLen)
-
-  result.add " "
-  if f.description != "":
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.descFlag & "]"
-    result.add f.description
-    result.add "[/]"
-  result.add "\n"
-
-proc bbImpl(cli: HwylCli): string =
-  if cli.cmd != "":
-    result.add cli.cmd
-    result.add "\n"
-  if cli.usage != "":
-    result.add "\n"
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.hdr & "]"
-    result.add "usage[/]:\n"
-    result.add indent(cli.usage, 2 )
-    result.add "\n"
-  if cli.flags.len > 0:
-    result.add "\n"
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.hdr & "]"
-    result.add "flags[/]:\n"
-    for f in cli.flags:
-      result.add flagHelp(cli,f)
-
-proc bb*(cli: HwylCli): BbString = 
-  result = bb(bbImpl(cli))
-
-proc `$`*(cli: HwylCli): string =
-  result = $bb(cli)
diff --git a/src/hwylterm/hwylcli.nim b/src/hwylterm/hwylcli.nim
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0366885
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hwylterm/hwylcli.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,768 @@
+##[
+  # HwylCli
+]##
+
+import std/[
+  macros, os, sequtils,
+  sets, strutils, tables,
+  sugar
+]
+import ./[bbansi, parseopt3]
+export parseopt3
+
+type
+  HwylFlagHelp = tuple
+    short, long, description: string
+  HwylSubCmdHelp = tuple
+    name, desc: string
+  HwylCliStyles* = object
+    hdr = "bold cyan"
+    shortFlag = "yellow"
+    longFlag = "magenta"
+    descFlag = ""
+    cmd = "bold"
+  HwylCliHelp* = object
+    cmd*: string
+    usage*: string
+    desc*: string
+    subcmds: seq[HwylSubCmdHelp]
+    flags*: seq[HwylFlagHelp]
+    styles*: HwylCliStyles
+    subcmdLen, subcmdDescLen, shortArgLen, longArgLen, descArgLen: int
+
+
+func newHwylCliHelp*(
+  cmd = "",
+  usage = "",
+  desc = "",
+  subcmds: openArray[HwylSubCmdHelp] = @[],
+  flags: openArray[HwylFlagHelp] = @[],
+  styles = HwylCliStyles()
+): HwylCliHelp =
+  result.cmd = cmd
+  result.desc = dedent(desc).strip()
+  result.subcmds = subcmds.mapIt((it.name,it.desc.splitlines()[0]))
+  result.usage = dedent(usage).strip()
+  result.flags = @flags
+  result.styles = styles
+  # TODO: incorporate into "styles?"
+  result.subcmdLen = 8
+  for f in flags:
+    result.shortArgLen = max(result.shortArgLen, f.short.len)
+    result.longArgLen  = max(result.longArgLen, f.long.len)
+    result.descArgLen  = max(result.descArgLen, f.description.len)
+  for s in subcmds:
+    result.subcmdLen = max(result.subcmdLen, s.name.len)
+    result.subcmdDescLen = max(result.subcmdDescLen, s.desc.len)
+
+func flagHelp(cli: HwylCliHelp, f: HwylFlagHelp): string =
+  result.add "  "
+  if f.short != "":
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.shortFlag & "]"
+    result.add "-" & f.short.alignLeft(cli.shortArgLen)
+    result.add "[/]"
+  else:
+    result.add " ".repeat(1 + cli.shortArgLen)
+
+  result.add " "
+  if f.long != "":
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.longFlag & "]"
+    result.add "--" & f.long.alignLeft(cli.longArgLen)
+    result.add "[/]"
+  else:
+    result.add " ".repeat(2 + cli.longArgLen)
+
+  result.add " "
+
+  if f.description != "":
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.descFlag & "]"
+    result.add f.description
+    result.add "[/]"
+  result.add "\n"
+
+func subCmdLine(cli: HwylCliHelp, subcmd: HwylSubCmdHelp): string =
+  # NOTE: set some minimum for the subcmdlen?
+  result.add "  "
+  result.add "[" & cli.styles.cmd & "]"
+  result.add subcmd.name.alignLeft(cli.subcmdLen)
+  result.add "[/]"
+  result.add " "
+  result.add subcmd.desc.alignLeft(cli.subcmdDescLen)
+  result.add "\n"
+
+proc bbImpl(cli: HwylCliHelp): string =
+  if cli.cmd != "":
+    result.add cli.cmd
+    result.add "\n"
+  if cli.usage != "":
+    result.add "\n"
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.hdr & "]"
+    result.add "usage[/]:\n"
+    result.add indent(cli.usage, 2 )
+  if cli.desc != "":
+    result.add "\n\n"
+    result.add cli.desc
+  result.add "\n"
+  if cli.subcmds.len > 0:
+    result.add "\n"
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.hdr & "]"
+    result.add "subcommands[/]:\n"
+    for s in cli.subcmds:
+      result.add cli.subcmdLine(s)
+  if cli.flags.len > 0:
+    result.add "\n"
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.hdr & "]"
+    result.add "flags[/]:\n"
+    for f in cli.flags:
+      # NOTE: added to accomate dumb macro below
+      # if f != ("","",""):
+      result.add flagHelp(cli,f)
+
+proc bb*(cli: HwylCliHelp): BbString = 
+  result = bb(bbImpl(cli))
+
+proc `$`*(cli: HwylCliHelp): string =
+  result = $bb(cli)
+
+# ---------------------------
+# const supportedbaseTypes = ["string", "bool", "int"]
+# const supportedSeqTypes = ["string", "int"]
+# #
+# proc getObjectFieldTypes(x: NimNode): Table[string, string] =
+#   let impl = getType(x).getTypeImpl()
+#   for f in impl[2]:
+#     let name = f[0].strVal
+#     template bail = error "unsupported field type for: " & name
+#     case f[1].kind
+#     of nnkSym:
+#       let typeSym = f[1].strVal
+#       if typeSym notin supportedbaseTypes: bail
+#       result[name] = typeSym
+#     of nnkBracketExpr:
+#       if f[1].len > 2: bail
+#       if f[1][0].strVal notin "seq": bail
+#       let typeSym = f[1][1].strVal
+#       if typeSym notin supportedSeqTypes: bail
+#       result[name] = f[1][0].strVal & "[" & f[1][1].strVal & "]"
+#     else: bail
+
+type
+  CliSetting = enum
+    NoHelpFlag, NoArgsShowHelp
+  CliFlag = object
+    name*: string
+    ident*: string
+    default*: NimNode
+    typeSym*: string
+    short*: char
+    long*: string
+    help*: NimNode
+  CliCfg = object
+    stopWords*: seq[string]
+    styles: NimNode
+    hidden*: seq[string]
+    subcommands: seq[CliCfg]
+    settings*: set[CliSetting]
+    run*: NimNode
+    desc*: NimNode
+    name*: string
+    subName*: string # used for help the generator
+    version*, usage*: NimNode
+    flags*: seq[CliFlag]
+    required*: seq[string]
+    globalFlags*: seq[CliFlag]
+
+func `?`(n: NimNode) =
+  ## for debugging macros
+  debugEcho treeRepr n
+
+# TODO: do i need this?
+func newCliFlag(): CliFlag =
+  result.help = newLit("")
+
+template badNode = 
+  error "unexpected node kind: " & $node.kind
+
+func typeSymFromNode(node: NimNode): string = 
+  case node.kind
+  of nnkIdent, nnkStrLit:
+    result = node.strVal
+  of nnkBracketExpr:
+    result = node[0].strVal & "[" & node[1].strVal & "]"
+  else: badNode
+
+func getOptTypeSym(node: NimNode): string =
+  case node.kind:
+  of nnkCommand:
+    result = typeSymFromNode(node[1]) # [0] is T
+  of nnkCall:
+    result = typeSymFromNode(node[1][0]) # [1] is stmtlist [0] is the type
+  else: error "unexpected node kind: " & $node.kind
+
+func getOptOptNode(optOptValue: NimNode): NimNode = 
+  case optOptValue.kind
+  of nnkStrLit:
+    result = optOptValue
+  of nnkStmtList:
+    result = optOptValue[0]
+  of nnkCommand:
+    result = optOptValue[1]
+  of nnkPrefix: # NOTE: should i double check prefix value?
+    result = optOptValue[1]
+  else: error "unexpected node kind: " & $optOptValue.kind
+
+# TODO: don't use the confusing name optOpts here and above
+func parseOptOpts(opt: var CliFlag, optOpts: NimNode) =
+  expectKind optOpts, nnkStmtList
+  for optOpt in optOpts:
+    case optOpt.kind
+    of nnkCall, nnkCommand, nnkPrefix:
+      case optOpt[0].strVal
+      of "help","?":
+        opt.help = getOptOptNode(optOpt[1])
+      of "short", "-":
+        let val = getOptOptNode(optOpt).strVal
+        if val.len > 1:
+          error "short flag must be a char"
+        opt.short = val[0].char
+      of "*", "default":
+        opt.default = getOptOptNode(optOpt)
+      of "i", "ident":
+        opt.ident = getOptOptNode(optOpt).strVal
+      of "T":
+        opt.typeSym = getOptTypeSym(optOpt)
+      else:
+        error "unexpected option setting: " & optOpt[0].strVal
+    else:
+      error "unexpected option node type: " & $optOpt.kind
+
+func startFlag(f: var CliFlag, n: NimNode) =
+  f.name =
+    case n[0].kind
+    of nnkIdent, nnkStrLit: n[0].strVal
+    of nnkAccQuoted: collect(for c in n[0]: c.strVal).join("")
+    else: error "unexpected node kind for option"
+
+  # assume a single character is a short flag
+  if f.name.len == 1:
+    f.short = f.name[0].char
+  else:
+    f.long = f.name
+
+func parseCliFlag(n: NimNode): CliFlag =
+  if n.kind notin [nnkCommand, nnkCall]:
+    error "unexpected node kind: " & $n.kind
+
+  # deduplicate these...
+  result = newCliFlag()
+  startFlag(result, n)
+  # option "some help desc"
+  if n.kind  == nnkCommand:
+    result.help = n[1]
+  # option:
+  #   help "some help description"
+  else:
+    parseOptOpts(result, n[1])
+
+  if result.ident == "":
+    result.ident = result.name
+  if result.typeSym == "":
+    result.typeSym = "string"
+
+
+func parseCliFlags(flags: NimNode): seq[CliFlag] =
+  expectKind flags, nnkStmtList
+  for f in flags:
+    result.add parseCliFlag(f)
+
+func parseCliSetting(s: string): CliSetting =
+  try: parseEnum[CliSetting](s)
+  except: error "unknown cli setting: " & s
+
+func parseCliSettings(cfg: var CliCfg, node: NimNode) =
+  case node.kind
+  of nnkCommand:
+    for n in node[1..^1]:
+      cfg.settings.incl parseCliSetting(n.strVal)
+  of nnkCall:
+    expectKind node[1], nnkStmtList
+    for n in node[1]:
+      cfg.settings.incl parseCliSetting(n.strVal)
+  else: assert false
+
+func parseIdentLikeList(node: NimNode): seq[string] =
+  template check = 
+    if n.kind notin [nnkStrLit,nnkIdent]:
+      error "expected StrLit or Ident, got:" & $n.kind
+  case node.kind
+  of nnkCommand:
+    for n in node[1..^1]:
+      check
+      result.add n.strVal
+  of nnkCall:
+    expectKind node[1], nnkStmtList
+    for n in node[1]:
+      check
+      result.add n.strVal
+  else: assert false
+
+func parseCliBody(body: NimNode, name: string = ""): CliCfg
+
+func isSubMarker(node: NimNode): bool =
+  if node.kind == nnkPrefix:
+    if eqIdent(node[0], "---"):
+      result = true
+
+func sliceStmts(node: NimNode): seq[
+  tuple[name: string, slice: Slice[int]]
+] =
+
+  if not isSubMarker(node[0]):
+    error "expected a subcommand delimiting line"
+
+  var
+    name: string = node[0][1].strVal
+    start = 1
+  let nodeLen = node.len()
+
+  for i in 1..<nodeLen:
+    if i == nodeLen - 1:
+      result.add (name, start..i)
+    elif isSubMarker(node[i]):
+      result.add (name, start..(i - 1))
+      name = node[i][1].strVal
+      start = i + 1
+
+
+func addGlobalFlagsFrom(child: var CliCfg, parent: CliCfg) =
+  let names = child.flags.mapIt(it.name)
+  for f in parent.globalFlags:
+    if f.name in names:
+      error "global flag " & f.name & " conflicts with command flag"
+    child.flags.add f
+
+func parseCliSubcommands(cfg: var CliCfg, node: NimNode) =
+  expectKind node[1], nnkStmtList
+  for (name, s) in sliceStmts(node[1]):
+    cfg.stopWords.add name
+    var subCfg = parseCliBody(
+      nnkStmtList.newTree(node[1][s]), cfg.name & " " & name
+    )
+    subCfg.subName = name
+    subCfg.addGlobalFlagsFrom(cfg)
+
+    cfg.subcommands.add  subCfg
+
+func parseHiddenFlags(cfg: var CliCfg, node: NimNode) =
+  template check =
+    if n.kind notin [nnkStrLit, nnkIdent]:
+      error "expected string literal or ident"
+  case node.kind
+  of nnkCommand:
+    for n in node[1..^1]:
+      check
+      cfg.hidden.add n.strVal
+  of nnkCall:
+    expectKind node[1], nnkStmtList
+    for n in node[1]:
+      check
+      cfg.hidden.add n.strVal
+  else: assert false
+
+func parseCliBody(body: NimNode, name = ""): CliCfg =
+  result.name = name
+  for call in body:
+    if call.kind  notin [nnkCall, nnkCommand, nnkPrefix]:
+      error "unexpected node kind: " & $call.kind
+    let name = call[0].strVal
+    case name:
+      of "name":
+        expectKind call[1], nnkStrLit
+        result.name = call[1].strVal
+      of "version", "V":
+        result.version = call[1]
+      of "usage", "?":
+        result.usage = call[1]
+      of "description", "...":
+        result.desc = call[1]
+      of "globalFlags":
+        result.globalFlags = parseCliFlags(call[1])
+      of "flags":
+        result.flags = parseCliFlags(call[1])
+      of "settings":
+        parseCliSettings(result, call)
+      of "stopWords":
+        result.stopWords = parseIdentLikeList(call)
+      of "subcommands":
+        parseCliSubcommands(result, call)
+      of "hidden":
+        parseHiddenFlags(result, call)
+      of "run":
+        result.run = call[1]
+      of "styles":
+        result.styles = call[1]
+      of "required":
+        result.required = parseIdentLikeList(call)
+      else:
+        error "unknown hwylCli setting: " & name
+
+  result.addGlobalFlagsFrom(result)
+
+  if result.name == "":
+    error "missing required option: name"
+
+func flagsArray(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
+  result = newTree(nnkBracket)
+
+  for f in cfg.flags:
+    if f.name in cfg.hidden: continue
+    let
+      help = f.help
+      long = newLit(f.long)
+      short =
+        if f.short != '\x00': newLit($f.short)
+        else: newLit("")
+    result.add quote do:
+      (`short`, `long`, `help`)
+
+  if NoHelpFlag notin cfg.settings:
+    result.add quote do:
+      ("h", "help", "show this help")
+
+  if cfg.version != nil:
+    result.add quote do:
+      ("v", "version", "print version")
+
+func subCmdsArray(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
+  result = newTree(nnkBracket)
+  for s in cfg.subcommands:
+    let cmd = newLit(s.subName)
+    let desc = s.desc
+    result.add quote do:
+      (`cmd`, `desc`)
+
+
+func defaultUsage(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
+  newLit("[b]" & cfg.name & "[/]" & " [[[faint]-h[/]]")
+
+func generateCliHelperProc(cfg: CliCfg, printHelpName: NimNode): NimNode =
+  let
+    name = newLit(cfg.name)
+    desc = cfg.desc or newLit("")
+    usage  = cfg.usage or defaultUsage(cfg)
+    helpFlags = cfg.flagsArray()
+    subcmds = cfg.subCmdsArray()
+    styles = cfg.styles or (quote do: HwylCliStyles())
+
+  result = quote do:
+    proc `printHelpName`() =
+      echo newHwylCliHelp(
+        cmd = `name`,
+        desc = `desc`,
+        usage = `usage`,
+        subcmds = `subcmds`,
+        flags = `helpFlags`,
+        styles = `styles`,
+      )
+
+# NOTE: is there a better way to do this?
+proc checkVarSet[T](name: string, target: T) =
+  var default: T
+  if target == default:
+    quit($bb("[red]error[/]: missing required flag: [b]" & name))
+
+proc checkDefaultExists[T](target: T, key: string, val: string) =
+  var default: T
+  if target == default and val == "":
+    quit($bb("[red]error[/]: expected value for: [b]" & key))
+
+proc tryParseInt(key: string, val: string): int =
+  try:
+    result = parseInt(val)
+  except:
+    quit($bb("[red]error[/]: failed to parse value for [b]" & key & "[/] as integer: [b]" & val))
+
+func addOrOverwrite[T](target: var seq[T], default: seq[T], val: T) =
+  if target != default:
+    target.add val
+  else:
+    target = @[val]
+
+
+func assignField(f: CliFlag): NimNode =
+    let key = ident"key"
+    let varName = ident(f.ident)
+
+    case f.typeSym
+    of "string":
+      let value = ident"val"
+      result = quote do:
+        checkDefaultExists(`varName`, `key`, `value`)
+        `varName` = `value`
+
+    of "bool":
+      let value = ident"true"
+      result = quote do:
+        `varName` = `value`
+
+    of "int":
+      let value = ident"val"
+      result = quote do:
+        checkDefaultExists(`varName`, `key`, `value`)
+        `varName` = tryParseInt(`key`, `value`)
+
+    of "seq[string]":
+      let value = ident"val"
+      let default = f.default or (quote do: @[])
+      result = quote do:
+        `varName`.addOrOverwrite(`default`, `value`)
+
+    of "seq[int]":
+      let value = ident"val"
+      let default = f.default or (quote do: @[])
+      result = quote do:
+        `varName`.addOrOverwrite(`default`, tryParseInt(`value`))
+
+    else: error "unable to generate assignment for fion, type: " & f.name & "," & f.typeSym
+
+func shortLongCaseStmt(cfg: CliCfg, printHelpName: NimNode, version: NimNode): NimNode = 
+  var caseStmt = nnkCaseStmt.newTree(ident("key"))
+  caseStmt.add nnkOfBranch.newTree(newLit(""), quote do: quit "empty flag not supported currently")
+
+  if NoHelpFlag notin cfg.settings:
+    caseStmt.add nnkOfBranch.newTree(
+      newLit("h"), newLit("help"),
+      quote do:
+        `printHelpName`(); quit 0
+    )
+
+  if cfg.version != nil:
+    caseStmt.add nnkOfBranch.newTree(
+        newLit("V"), newLit("version"),
+        quote do:
+          echo `version`; quit 0
+    )
+
+  # add flags
+  for f in cfg.flags:
+    var branch = nnkOfBranch.newTree()
+    if f.long != "": branch.add(newLit(f.long))
+    if f.short != '\x00': branch.add(newLit($f.short))
+    branch.add assignField(f)
+    caseStmt.add branch
+
+  caseStmt.add nnkElse.newTree(quote do: quit "unknown flag: " & key)
+  result = nnkStmtList.newTree(caseStmt)
+
+
+func getNoVals(cfg: CliCfg): tuple[long: NimNode, short: NimNode] =
+  var long = nnkBracket.newTree()
+  var short = nnkCurly.newTree()
+
+  if NoHelpFlag notin cfg.settings:
+    long.add newLit("help")
+    short.add newLit('h')
+
+  if cfg.version != nil:
+    long.add newLit("version")
+    short.add newLit('V')
+
+  for f in cfg.flags:
+    if f.typeSym == "bool":
+      if f.long != "":
+        long.add newLit(f.long)
+      if f.short != '\x00':
+        short.add newLit(f.short)
+
+  result = (nnkPrefix.newTree(ident"@",long), short)
+
+func setFlagVars(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
+  result = nnkVarSection.newTree()
+  # TODO: generalize this better... 
+
+  for f in cfg.flags:
+    let
+      t =
+        if f.typeSym == "seq[string]": nnkBracketExpr.newTree(newIdentNode("seq"),newIdentNode("string"))
+        elif f.typeSym == "seq[int]" : nnkBracketExpr.newTree(newIdentNode("seq"),newIdentNode("string"))
+        else: ident(f.typeSym)
+      val =
+        if f.default == nil: newEmptyNode() # use default here
+        else: f.default
+
+    result.add nnkIdentDefs.newTree(ident(f.ident), t, val)
+
+func addRequiredFlagsCheck(cfg: CliCfg, body: NimNode) =
+  let requirdFlags = cfg.flags.filterIt(it.name in cfg.required and it.default == nil)
+  for f in requirdFlags:
+    let name = newLit(f.name)
+    let flag = ident(f.ident)
+    body.add quote do:
+      checkVarSet(`name`, `flag`)
+
+func hwylCliImpl(cfg: CliCfg, root = false): NimNode =
+
+  let
+    version = cfg.version or newLit("")
+    name = cfg.name.replace(" ", "")
+    printHelpName = ident("print" & name & "Help")
+    parserProcName = ident("parse" & name)
+
+  result = newTree(nnkStmtList)
+
+  let
+    printHelperProc = generateCliHelperProc(cfg, printHelpName)
+    flagVars = setFlagVars(cfg)
+
+  # result.add setFlagVars(cfg)
+
+  var parserBody = nnkStmtList.newTree()
+  let
+    optParser = ident("p")
+    cmdLine = ident"cmdLine"
+    (longNoVal, shortNoVal) = cfg.getNoVals()
+
+  var stopWords = nnkBracket.newTree(newLit("--"))
+  for w in cfg.stopWords:
+    stopWords.add newLit(w)
+  stopWords = nnkPrefix.newTree(ident"@", stopWords)
+
+  parserBody.add(
+    quote do:
+      var `optParser` = initOptParser(
+        @`cmdLine`,
+        longNoVal = `longNoVal`,
+        shortNoVal = `shortNoVal`,
+        stopWords = `stopWords`
+      )
+  )
+
+  let
+    kind = ident"kind"
+    key = ident"key"
+    val = ident"val"
+
+  parserBody.add nnkForStmt.newTree(
+    kind, key, val,
+    nnkCall.newTree(nnkDotExpr.newTree(optParser,ident("getopt"))),
+    nnkStmtList.newTree(
+      # # for debugging..
+      # quote do:
+      #   echo `kind`,"|",`key`,"|",`val`
+      # ,
+      nnkCaseStmt.newTree(
+        kind,
+        nnkOfBranch.newTree(ident("cmdError"), quote do: quit($(bb"[red]cli error[/]: " & p.message), 1)),
+        nnkOfBranch.newTree(ident("cmdEnd"), quote do: assert false),
+        # TODO: add nArgs to change how cmdArgument is handled ...
+        nnkOfBranch.newTree(ident("cmdArgument"), quote do: result.add `key`),
+        nnkOfBranch.newTree(
+          ident("cmdShortOption"), ident("cmdLongOption"),
+          shortLongCaseStmt(cfg, printHelpName, version)
+        )
+      )
+    )
+  )
+
+  if NoArgsShowHelp in cfg.settings:
+    parserBody.add quote do:
+      if commandLineParams().len == 0:
+        `printHelpName`(); quit 1
+
+  let runProcName = ident("run" & name)
+  let runBody = nnkStmtList.newTree()
+  addRequiredFlagsCheck(cfg, runBody)
+  # move to proc?
+  if cfg.run != nil:
+    runBody.add cfg.run
+
+  # let runBody = cfg.run or nnkStmtList.newTree(nnkDiscardStmt.newTree(newEmptyNode()))
+  
+  let args = ident"args"
+
+  if cfg.subcommands.len > 0:
+    var handleSubCommands = nnkStmtList.newTree()
+    handleSubCommands.add quote do:
+      if `args`.len == 0:
+        quit "expected subcommand"
+
+    var subCommandCase = nnkCaseStmt.newTree(
+      quote do: `args`[0]
+    )
+    for sub in cfg.subcommands:
+      subCommandCase.add nnkOfBranch.newTree(
+        newLit(sub.subName),
+        hwylCliImpl(sub)
+      )
+
+    subcommandCase.add nnkElse.newTree(
+      quote do:
+        quit $bb"[red]error[/] unknown subcommand: " & `args`[0]
+    )
+
+    runBody.add handleSubCommands.add subCommandCase
+
+  result.add quote do:
+    # block:
+      `printHelperProc`
+      `flagVars`
+      proc `parserProcName`(`cmdLine`: openArray[string] = commandLineParams()): seq[string] =
+        `parserBody`
+
+      proc `runProcName`(`cmdLine`: openArray[string] = commandLineParams()) =
+        let `args` = `parserProcName`(`cmdLine`)
+        `runBody`
+
+  if root:
+    result.add quote do:
+      `runProcName`()
+  else:
+    result.add quote do:
+      `runProcName`(`args`[1..^1])
+
+macro hwylCli*(body: untyped) =
+  var cfg = parseCliBody(body)
+  hwylCliImpl(cfg, root = true)
+
+when isMainModule:
+  import std/strformat
+  hwylCli:
+    name "hwylterm"
+    ... "a description of hwylterm"
+    globalFlags:
+      config:
+        T seq[string]
+        ? "path to config file"
+    flags:
+      check:
+        T bool
+        ? "load config and exit"
+        - c
+    run:
+      echo "hello from the main command"
+      echo fmt"{config=}, {check=}"
+    subcommands:
+      --- a
+      description "the \"a\" subcommand"
+      flags:
+        `long-flag` "some help"
+        flagg       "some other help"
+      run:
+        echo config
+        echo "hello from hwylterm sub command!"
+        echo `long-flag`
+        echo flagg
+      --- b
+      description "the \"b\" subcommand"
+      flags:
+        aflag:
+          T bool
+          ? "some help"
+        bflag:
+          ? "some other flag?"
+          * "wow"
+      run:
+        echo "hello from hwylterm sub `b` command"
+        echo aflag, bflag
+
+
diff --git a/todo.md b/todo.md
index ae56a83..bcd1bf1 100644
--- a/todo.md
+++ b/todo.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 - [ ] revamp spinner api (new  threads?)
 - [x] add Bbstring ~~indexing operations~~ strutils, that are span aware
 - [ ] add a `commands` option for `newHwylCli` in `hwylterm/cli`
+- [ ] console object with customizable options to apply formatting
 
 ## features