src/hwylterm/bbansi.nim

@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ when isMainModule:
 
   hwylCli:
     name "bbansi"
-    settings ShowHelp
+    settings NoArgsShowHelp
     usage "[bold]bbansi[/] [[[green]args...[/]] [[[faint]-h|-V[/]]"
     description """
     bbansi "[[yellow] yellow text!"

src/hwylterm/chooser.nim

@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ when isMainModule:
   import ./[hwylcli]
   hwylcli:
     name "hwylchoose"
-    settings ShowHelp
+    settings NoArgsShowHelp
     usage "[bold]hwylchoose[/] [[[green]args...[/]] [[[faint]-h[/]]"
     description """
     hwylchoose a b c d

src/hwylterm/hwylcli.nim

@@ -8,41 +8,40 @@ import std/[
   sugar
 ]
 import ./[bbansi, parseopt3]
-export parseopt3, sets, bbansi
+export parseopt3
 
 type
-  HwylFlagHelp* = tuple
+  HwylFlagHelp = tuple
     short, long, description: string
-  HwylSubCmdHelp* = tuple
+  HwylSubCmdHelp = tuple
     name, desc: string
   HwylCliStyles* = object
-    header* = "bold cyan"
+    hdr = "bold cyan"
-    flagShort* = "yellow"
+    shortFlag = "yellow"
-    flagLong* = "magenta"
+    longFlag = "magenta"
-    flagDesc* = ""
+    descFlag = ""
-    cmd* = "bold"
+    cmd = "bold"
   HwylCliHelp* = object
+    cmd*: string
     usage*: string
     desc*: string
-    subcmds*: seq[HwylSubCmdHelp]
+    subcmds: seq[HwylSubCmdHelp]
     flags*: seq[HwylFlagHelp]
     styles*: HwylCliStyles
-    subcmdLen*, subcmdDescLen*, shortArgLen*, longArgLen*, descArgLen*: int
+    subcmdLen, subcmdDescLen, shortArgLen, longArgLen, descArgLen: int
 
-# NOTE: do i need both strips?
-func firstLine(s: string): string =
-  s.strip().dedent().strip().splitlines()[0]
 
 func newHwylCliHelp*(
+  cmd = "",
   usage = "",
   desc = "",
   subcmds: openArray[HwylSubCmdHelp] = @[],
   flags: openArray[HwylFlagHelp] = @[],
   styles = HwylCliStyles()
 ): HwylCliHelp =
+  result.cmd = cmd
   result.desc = dedent(desc).strip()
-  result.subcmds =
+  result.subcmds = subcmds.mapIt((it.name,it.desc.strip().dedent().strip().splitlines()[0]))
-    subcmds.mapIt((it.name, it.desc.firstLine))
   result.usage = dedent(usage).strip()
   result.flags = @flags
   result.styles = styles
@@ -56,10 +55,10 @@ func newHwylCliHelp*(
     result.subcmdLen = max(result.subcmdLen, s.name.len)
     result.subcmdDescLen = max(result.subcmdDescLen, s.desc.len)
 
-func render*(cli: HwylCliHelp, f: HwylFlagHelp): string = 
+func flagHelp(cli: HwylCliHelp, f: HwylFlagHelp): string =
   result.add "  "
   if f.short != "":
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.flagShort & "]"
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.shortFlag & "]"
     result.add "-" & f.short.alignLeft(cli.shortArgLen)
     result.add "[/]"
   else:
@@ -67,7 +66,7 @@ func render*(cli: HwylCliHelp, f: HwylFlagHelp): string =
 
   result.add " "
   if f.long != "":
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.flagLong & "]"
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.longFlag & "]"
     result.add "--" & f.long.alignLeft(cli.longArgLen)
     result.add "[/]"
   else:
@@ -76,12 +75,12 @@ func render*(cli: HwylCliHelp, f: HwylFlagHelp): string =
   result.add " "
 
   if f.description != "":
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.flagDesc & "]"
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.descFlag & "]"
     result.add f.description
     result.add "[/]"
   result.add "\n"
 
-func render*(cli: HwylCliHelp, subcmd: HwylSubCmdHelp): string =
+func subCmdLine(cli: HwylCliHelp, subcmd: HwylSubCmdHelp): string =
   result.add "  "
   result.add "[" & cli.styles.cmd & "]"
   result.add subcmd.name.alignLeft(cli.subcmdLen)
@@ -90,63 +89,49 @@ func render*(cli: HwylCliHelp, subcmd: HwylSubCmdHelp): string =
   result.add subcmd.desc.alignLeft(cli.subcmdDescLen)
   result.add "\n"
 
-
+proc bbImpl(cli: HwylCliHelp): string =
-# TODO: split this into separate procs to make overriding more fluid
+  if cli.cmd != "":
-func render*(cli: HwylCliHelp): string =
+    result.add cli.cmd
+    result.add "\n"
   if cli.usage != "":
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.header & "]"
+    result.add "\n"
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.hdr & "]"
     result.add "usage[/]:\n"
     result.add indent(cli.usage, 2 )
-  result.add "\n"
   if cli.desc != "":
-    result.add "\n"
+    result.add "\n\n"
     result.add cli.desc
   result.add "\n"
   if cli.subcmds.len > 0:
     result.add "\n"
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.header & "]"
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.hdr & "]"
     result.add "subcommands[/]:\n"
     for s in cli.subcmds:
-      result.add cli.render(s)
+      result.add cli.subcmdLine(s)
   if cli.flags.len > 0:
     result.add "\n"
-    result.add "[" & cli.styles.header & "]"
+    result.add "[" & cli.styles.hdr & "]"
     result.add "flags[/]:\n"
     for f in cli.flags:
-      result.add render(cli,f)
+      result.add flagHelp(cli,f)
 
 proc bb*(cli: HwylCliHelp): BbString = 
-  result = bb(render(cli))
+  result = bb(bbImpl(cli))
 
-# ----------------------------------------
+proc `$`*(cli: HwylCliHelp): string =
+  result = $bb(cli)
 
 type
-  Count* = object ## Count type for an incrementing flag
+  CliSetting = enum
-    val*: int
+    NoHelpFlag, NoArgsShowHelp
-
-type
-  # ----
-  CliSetting* = enum
-    NoHelpFlag, ## Remove the builtin help flag
-    ShowHelp,   ## If cmdline empty show help
-    NoNormalize ## Don't normalize flags and commands
-
-  BuiltinFlag = object
-    name*: string
-    short*: char
-    long*: string
-    help*: NimNode
-    node: NimNode
-
   CliFlag = object
     name*: string
-    ident*: NimNode
+    ident*: string
     default*: NimNode
-    typeNode*: NimNode
+    typeSym*: string
     short*: char
     long*: string
     help*: NimNode
-
   CliCfg = object
     stopWords*: seq[string]
     styles: NimNode
@@ -159,60 +144,74 @@ type
     subName*: string # used for help the generator
     version*, usage*: NimNode
     flags*: seq[CliFlag]
-    builtinFlags*: seq[BuiltinFlag]
-    flagGroups: Table[string, seq[CliFlag]]
     required*: seq[string]
-    inheritFlags*: seq[string]
+    globalFlags*: seq[CliFlag]
-    root*: bool
 
-# some debug procs I use to wrap my ahead aroung the magic of *macro*
+{.push hint[XDeclaredButNotUsed]:off .}
-func `<<<`(n: NimNode) {.used.} =
+func peekNode(n: NimNode) =
   ## for debugging macros
   debugEcho treeRepr n
-func `<<<`(s: string) {.used.} =
+{.pop.}
-  debugEcho s
 
-func bad(n: NimNode, argument: string = "") =
+# TODO: do i need this?
-  var msg = "unexpected node kind: " & $n.kind
+func newCliFlag(): CliFlag =
-  if argument != "":
+  result.help = newLit("")
-    msg &= " for argument: " & argument
-  error msg
 
-func getFlagParamNode(node: NimNode): NimNode = 
+template badNode = 
+  error "unexpected node kind: " & $node.kind
+
+func typeSymFromNode(node: NimNode): string = 
   case node.kind
-  of nnkStrLit:
+  of nnkIdent, nnkStrLit:
-    result = node
+    result = node.strVal
-  of nnkStmtList:
+  of nnkBracketExpr:
-    result = node[0]
+    result = node[0].strVal & "[" & node[1].strVal & "]"
-  of nnkCommand:
+  else: badNode
-    result = node[1]
-  of nnkPrefix: # NOTE: should i double check prefix value?
-    result = node[1]
-  else: bad(node, "flag param")
 
-func parseFlagParams(f: var CliFlag, node: NimNode) =
+func getOptTypeSym(node: NimNode): string =
-  expectKind node, nnkStmtList
+  case node.kind:
-  for n in node:
+  of nnkCommand:
-    case n.kind
+    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 n[0].strVal
+      case optOpt[0].strVal
       of "help","?":
-        f.help = getFlagParamNode(n[1])
+        opt.help = getOptOptNode(optOpt[1])
       of "short", "-":
-        let val = getFlagParamNode(n).strVal
+        let val = getOptOptNode(optOpt).strVal
         if val.len > 1:
           error "short flag must be a char"
-        f.short = val[0].char
+        opt.short = val[0].char
       of "*", "default":
-        f.default = getFlagParamNode(n)
+        opt.default = getOptOptNode(optOpt)
       of "i", "ident":
-        f.ident = getFlagParamNode(n).strVal.ident
+        opt.ident = getOptOptNode(optOpt).strVal
       of "T":
-        f.typeNode = n[1]
+        opt.typeSym = getOptTypeSym(optOpt)
       else:
-        error "unexpected setting: " & n[0].strVal
+        error "unexpected option setting: " & optOpt[0].strVal
     else:
-      bad(n, "flag params")
+      error "unexpected option node type: " & $optOpt.kind
 
 func startFlag(f: var CliFlag, n: NimNode) =
   f.name =
@@ -221,8 +220,6 @@ func startFlag(f: var CliFlag, n: NimNode) =
     of nnkAccQuoted: collect(for c in n[0]: c.strVal).join("")
     else: error "unexpected node kind for option"
 
-  f.help = newLit("") # by default no string
-
   # assume a single character is a short flag
   if f.name.len == 1:
     f.short = f.name[0].char
@@ -231,8 +228,10 @@ func startFlag(f: var CliFlag, n: NimNode) =
 
 func parseCliFlag(n: NimNode): CliFlag =
   if n.kind notin [nnkCommand, nnkCall]:
-    bad(n, "flags")
+    error "unexpected node kind: " & $n.kind
 
+  # deduplicate these...
+  result = newCliFlag()
   startFlag(result, n)
   # option "some help desc"
   if n.kind  == nnkCommand:
@@ -240,36 +239,18 @@ func parseCliFlag(n: NimNode): CliFlag =
   # option:
   #   help "some help description"
   else:
-    parseFlagParams(result, n[1])
+    parseOptOpts(result, n[1])
 
-  if result.ident == nil:
+  if result.ident == "":
-    result.ident = result.name.ident
+    result.ident = result.name
-  if result.typeNode == nil:
+  if result.typeSym == "":
-    result.typeNode = ident"string"
+    result.typeSym = "string"
 
-# TODO: change how this works?
+
-func parseCliFlags(cfg: var  CliCfg, node: NimNode) =
+func parseCliFlags(flags: NimNode): seq[CliFlag] =
-  var group: string
+  expectKind flags, nnkStmtList
-  expectKind node, nnkStmtList
+  for f in flags:
-  for n in node:
+    result.add parseCliFlag(f)
-    var flag: CliFlag
-    case n.kind
-    of nnkCall, nnkCommand:
-      flag = parseCliFlag(n)
-      if group == "":
-        cfg.flags.add flag
-      else:
-        if group notin cfg.flagGroups: cfg.flagGroups[group] = @[flag]
-        else: cfg.flagGroups[group].add flag
-    of nnkBracket:
-      group = n[0].strVal
-      continue
-    of nnkPrefix:
-      if n[0].kind != nnkIdent and n[0].strVal != "^":
-        error "unexpected node in flags: " &  $n.kind
-      expectKind n[1], nnkBracket
-      cfg.inheritFlags.add n[1][0].strVal
-    else:  bad(n, "flag")
 
 func parseCliSetting(s: string): CliSetting =
   try: parseEnum[CliSetting](s)
@@ -302,7 +283,7 @@ func parseIdentLikeList(node: NimNode): seq[string] =
       result.add n.strVal
   else: assert false
 
-func parseCliBody(body: NimNode, name: string = "", root: bool= false): CliCfg
+func parseCliBody(body: NimNode, name: string = ""): CliCfg
 
 func isSubMarker(node: NimNode): bool =
   if node.kind == nnkPrefix:
@@ -329,25 +310,13 @@ func sliceStmts(node: NimNode): seq[
       start = i + 1
 
 
-func addInheritedFlags(child: var CliCfg, parent: CliCfg, self = false) =
+func addGlobalFlagsFrom(child: var CliCfg, parent: CliCfg) =
   let names = child.flags.mapIt(it.name)
-  var groups: seq[string]
+  for f in parent.globalFlags:
-  if not self:
+    if f.name in names:
-    groups.add child.inheritFlags
+      error "global flag " & f.name & " conflicts with command flag"
+    child.flags.add f
 
-  # autoinherit the "global" flags
-  if "global" in parent.flagGroups:
-    groups.add "global"
-
-  for g in groups:
-    if g notin parent.flagGroups:
-      debugEcho parent.flagGroups.keys().toSeq()
-      error "expected flag group: " & g & " to exist in parent command"
-    for f in parent.flagGroups[g]:
-      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]):
@@ -356,7 +325,8 @@ func parseCliSubcommands(cfg: var CliCfg, node: NimNode) =
       nnkStmtList.newTree(node[1][s]), cfg.name & " " & name
     )
     subCfg.subName = name
-    subCfg.addInheritedFlags(cfg)
+    subCfg.addGlobalFlagsFrom(cfg)
+
     cfg.subcommands.add  subCfg
 
 func parseHiddenFlags(cfg: var CliCfg, node: NimNode) =
@@ -375,41 +345,8 @@ func parseHiddenFlags(cfg: var CliCfg, node: NimNode) =
       cfg.hidden.add n.strVal
   else: assert false
 
-func addBuiltinFlags(cfg: var CliCfg) =
+func parseCliBody(body: NimNode, name = ""): CliCfg =
-  # duplicated with below :/
-  let shorts = cfg.flags.mapIt(it.short).toHashSet()
-
-  let 
-    name = cfg.name.replace(" ", "")
-    printHelpName = ident("print" & name & "Help")
- 
-  if NoHelpFlag notin cfg.settings:
-    let helpNode = quote do:
-      `printHelpName`(); quit 0
-    cfg.builtinFlags.add BuiltinFlag(
-      name: "help",
-      long: "help",
-      help: newLit("show this help"),
-      short: if 'h' notin shorts: 'h' else: '\x00',
-      node: helpNode
-    )
-
-  if cfg.version != nil:
-    let version = cfg.version
-    let versionNode = quote do:
-      echo `version`; quit 0
-
-    cfg.builtinFlags.add BuiltinFlag(
-      name:"version",
-      long: "version",
-      help: newLit("print version"),
-      short: if 'V' notin shorts: 'V' else: '\x00',
-      node: versionNode
-    )
-
-func parseCliBody(body: NimNode, name = "", root = false): CliCfg =
   result.name = name
-  result.root = true
   for call in body:
     if call.kind  notin [nnkCall, nnkCommand, nnkPrefix]:
       error "unexpected node kind: " & $call.kind
@@ -424,8 +361,10 @@ func parseCliBody(body: NimNode, name = "", root = false): CliCfg =
         result.usage = call[1]
       of "description", "...":
         result.desc = call[1]
+      of "globalFlags":
+        result.globalFlags = parseCliFlags(call[1])
       of "flags":
-        parseCliFlags(result, call[1])
+        result.flags = parseCliFlags(call[1])
       of "settings":
         parseCliSettings(result, call)
       of "stopWords":
@@ -451,31 +390,32 @@ func parseCliBody(body: NimNode, name = "", root = false): CliCfg =
     sub.pre = result.preSub
     sub.post = result.postSub
 
-  result.addInheritedFlags(result, self = true)
+  result.addGlobalFlagsFrom(result)
 
   if result.name == "":
     error "missing required option: name"
 
-  # TODO: validate "required" flags exist here
-  result.addBuiltinFlags()
-
-func flagToTuple(f: CliFlag | BuiltinFlag): NimNode =
-  let
-    short =
-      if f.short != '\x00': newLit($f.short)
-      else: newLit("")
-    long = newLit(f.long)
-    help = f.help
-  quote do:
-    (`short`, `long`, `help`)
-
 func flagsArray(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
   result = newTree(nnkBracket)
+
   for f in cfg.flags:
     if f.name in cfg.hidden: continue
-    result.add f.flagToTuple()
+    let
-  for f in cfg.builtinFlags:
+      help = f.help
-    result.add f.flagToTuple()
+      long = newLit(f.long)
+      short =
+        if f.short != '\x00': newLit($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)
@@ -485,7 +425,7 @@ func subCmdsArray(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
     result.add quote do:
       (`cmd`, `desc`)
 
-proc hwylCliError*(msg: string | BbString) =
+proc hwylCliError(msg: string | BbString) = 
   quit $(bb("error ", "red") & bb(msg))
 
 func defaultUsage(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
@@ -497,6 +437,7 @@ func defaultUsage(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
 
 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()
@@ -505,204 +446,193 @@ func generateCliHelperProc(cfg: CliCfg, printHelpName: NimNode): NimNode =
 
   result = quote do:
     proc `printHelpName`() =
-      echo bb(render(newHwylCliHelp(
+      echo newHwylCliHelp(
+        cmd = `name`,
         desc = `desc`,
         usage = `usage`,
         subcmds = `subcmds`,
         flags = `helpFlags`,
         styles = `styles`,
-      )))
+      )
 
-proc parse*(p: OptParser, key: string, val: string, target: var bool) =
+# NOTE: is there a better way to do this?
-  target = true
+proc checkVarSet[T](name: string, target: T) =
+  var default: T
+  if target == default:
+    hwylCliError("missing required flag: [b]" & name)
 
-proc parse*(p: OptParser, key: string, val: string, target: var string) =
+proc checkDefaultExists[T](target: T, key: string, val: string) =
-  target = val
+  var default: T
+  if target == default and val == "":
+    hwylCliError("expected value for: [b]" & key)
 
-proc parse*(p: OptParser, key: string, val: string, target: var int) =
+proc tryParseInt(key: string, val: string): int =
   try:
-    target = parseInt(val)
+    result = parseInt(val)
   except:
     hwylCliError(
       "failed to parse value for [b]" & key & "[/] as integer: [b]" & val
     )
 
-macro enumNames(a: typed): untyped =
+func addOrOverwrite[T](target: var seq[T], default: seq[T], val: T) =
-  ## unexported macro copied from std/enumutils
+  if target != default:
-  result = newNimNode(nnkBracket)
+    target.add val
-  for ai in a.getType[1][1..^1]:
-    assert ai.kind == nnkSym
-    result.add newLit ai.strVal
-
-proc parse*[E: enum](p: OptParser, key: string, val: string, target: var E) =
-  try:
-    target = parseEnum[E](val)
-  except:
-    let choices = enumNames(E).join(",")
-    hwylCliError(
-      "failed to parse value for [b]" & key & "[/] as enum: [b]" & val & "[/], expected one of: " & choices
-    )
-
-proc parse*(p: OptParser, key: string, val: string, target: var float) =
-  try:
-    target = parseFloat(val)
-  except:
-    hwylCliError(
-      "failed to parse value for [b]" & key & "[/] as float: [b]" & val
-    )
-
-proc parse*[T](p: OptParser, key: string, val: string, target: var seq[T]) =
-  var parsed: T
-  parse(p, key, val, parsed)
-  target.add parsed
-
-proc parse*(p: OptParser, key: string, val: string, target: var Count) =
-  # if value set to that otherwise increment
-  if val != "":
-    var num: int
-    parse(p, key, val, num)
-    target.val = num
   else:
-    inc target.val
+    target = @[val]
 
-func shortLongCaseStmt(cfg: CliCfg, printHelpName: NimNode, version: NimNode): NimNode =
+func assignField(f: CliFlag): NimNode =
-  var caseStmt = nnkCaseStmt.newTree()
+    let key = ident"key"
-  if NoNormalize notin cfg.settings:
+    let varName = ident(f.ident)
-    caseStmt.add nnkCall.newTree(ident"optionNormalize", ident"key")
-  else:
-    caseStmt.add ident"key"
 
+    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: hwylCliError("empty flag not supported currently"))
 
-  for f in cfg.builtinFlags:
+  if NoHelpFlag notin cfg.settings:
-    var branch = nnkOfBranch.newTree()
+    caseStmt.add nnkOfBranch.newTree(
-    if f.long != "": branch.add(newLit(f.long))
+      newLit("h"), newLit("help"),
-    if f.short != '\x00': branch.add(newLit($f.short))
+      quote do:
-    branch.add f.node
+        `printHelpName`(); quit 0
-    caseStmt.add branch
+    )
+
+  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 != "": 
+    if f.long != "": branch.add(newLit(f.long))
-      branch.add newLit(
-        if NoNormalize notin cfg.settings: optionNormalize(f.long)
-        else: f.long
-      )
     if f.short != '\x00': branch.add(newLit($f.short))
-    let varName = f.ident
+    branch.add assignField(f)
-    let name = newLit(f.name)
-    branch.add quote do:
-      flagSet.incl `name`
-      parse(p, key, val, `varName`)
-
     caseStmt.add branch
 
   caseStmt.add nnkElse.newTree(quote do: hwylCliError("unknown flag: [b]" & key))
-
   result = nnkStmtList.newTree(caseStmt)
 
-func isBool(f: CliFlag): bool =
-  f.typeNode == ident"bool"
-
-func isCount(f: CliFlag): bool = 
-  f.typeNode == ident"Count"
 
 func getNoVals(cfg: CliCfg): tuple[long: NimNode, short: NimNode] =
-  let flagFlags = cfg.flags.filterIt(it.isBool or it.isCount)
+  var long = nnkBracket.newTree()
-  let long =
+  var short = nnkCurly.newTree()
-    nnkBracket.newTree(
+
-      (flagFlags.mapIt(it.long) & cfg.builtinFlags.mapIt(it.long)).filterIt(it != "").mapIt(newLit(it))
+  if NoHelpFlag notin cfg.settings:
-    )
+    long.add newLit("help")
-  let short =
+    short.add newLit('h')
-    nnkCurly.newTree(
+
-      (flagFlags.mapIt(it.short) & cfg.builtinFlags.mapIt(it.short)).filterIt(it != '\x00').mapIt(newLit(it))
+  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().add(
+  result = nnkVarSection.newTree()
-    cfg.flags.mapIt(
+  # TODO: generalize this better... 
-      nnkIdentDefs.newTree(it.ident, it.typeNode, newEmptyNode())
-    )
-  )
-
-func literalFlags(f: CliFlag): NimNode =
-  var flags: seq[string]
-  if f.short != '\x00': flags.add "[b]" &  "-" & $f.short & "[/]"
-  if f.long != "": flags.add "[b]" & "--" & f.long & "[/]"
-  result = newLit(flags.join("|"))
-
-func addPostParseCheck(cfg: CliCfg, body: NimNode) =
-  ## generate block to set defaults and check for required flags
-  let flagSet = ident"flagSet"
-  var required, default: seq[CliFlag]
 
   for f in cfg.flags:
-    if f.name in cfg.required and f.default == nil:
-      required.add f
-    elif f.default != nil:
-      default.add f
-
-  for f in required:
-    let flagLit = f.literalFlags
-    let name = newLit(f.name)
-    body.add quote do:
-      if `name` notin `flagSet`:
-        hwylCliError("expected a value for flag: " & `flagLit`)
-
-  for f in default:
     let
-      name = newLit(f.name)
+      t =
-      target = f.ident
+        if f.typeSym == "seq[string]": nnkBracketExpr.newTree(newIdentNode("seq"),newIdentNode("string"))
-      default = f.default
+        elif f.typeSym == "seq[int]" : nnkBracketExpr.newTree(newIdentNode("seq"),newIdentNode("string"))
-    body.add quote do:
+        else: ident(f.typeSym)
-      if `name` notin `flagSet`:
+      val =
-        `target` = `default`
+        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 =
 
-func hwylCliImpl(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
   let
     version = cfg.version or newLit("")
     name = cfg.name.replace(" ", "")
     printHelpName = ident("print" & name & "Help")
     parserProcName = ident("parse" & name)
-    args = ident"args"
-    optParser = ident("p")
-    cmdLine = ident"cmdLine"
-    flagSet = ident"flagSet"
-    kind = ident"kind"
-    key = ident"key"
-    val = ident"val"
-    (longNoVal, shortNoVal) = cfg.getNoVals()
-    printHelperProc = generateCliHelperProc(cfg, printHelpName)
-    flagVars = setFlagVars(cfg)
 
   result = newTree(nnkStmtList)
 
-  var
+  let
-    parserBody = nnkStmtList.newTree()
+    printHelperProc = generateCliHelperProc(cfg, printHelpName)
-    stopWords = nnkBracket.newTree(newLit("--"))
+    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)
 
-  # should this a CritBitTree?
-  parserBody.add quote do:
-    var `flagSet`: HashSet[string]
-
   parserBody.add(
     quote do:
       var `optParser` = initOptParser(
         @`cmdLine`,
         longNoVal = `longNoVal`,
         shortNoVal = `shortNoVal`,
-        stopWords = `stopWords`,
+        stopWords = `stopWords`
-        opChars = {','}
       )
   )
-  # TODO: first key needs to be normalized
+
+  let
+    kind = ident"kind"
+    key = ident"key"
+    val = ident"val"
+
   parserBody.add nnkForStmt.newTree(
     kind, key, val,
     nnkCall.newTree(nnkDotExpr.newTree(optParser,ident("getopt"))),
@@ -716,10 +646,7 @@ func hwylCliImpl(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
         nnkOfBranch.newTree(ident("cmdError"), quote do: hwylCliError(p.message)),
         nnkOfBranch.newTree(ident("cmdEnd"), quote do: assert false),
         # TODO: add nArgs to change how cmdArgument is handled ...
-        nnkOfBranch.newTree(ident("cmdArgument"),
+        nnkOfBranch.newTree(ident("cmdArgument"), quote do: result.add `key`),
-          quote do:
-            result.add `key`
-        ),
         nnkOfBranch.newTree(
           ident("cmdShortOption"), ident("cmdLongOption"),
           shortLongCaseStmt(cfg, printHelpName, version)
@@ -728,14 +655,14 @@ func hwylCliImpl(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
     )
   )
 
-  if ShowHelp in cfg.settings:
+  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()
-  addPostParseCheck(cfg, parserBody)
+  addRequiredFlagsCheck(cfg, runBody)
   # move to proc?
   if cfg.pre != nil:
     runBody.add cfg.pre
@@ -744,31 +671,32 @@ func hwylCliImpl(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
   if cfg.post != nil:
     runBody.add cfg.post
 
+  # 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:
         hwylCliError("expected subcommand")
 
-    var subCommandCase = nnkCaseStmt.newTree()
+    var subCommandCase = nnkCaseStmt.newTree(
-    if NoNormalize notin cfg.settings:
+      quote do: `args`[0]
-      subCommandCase.add(quote do: optionNormalize(`args`[0]))
+    )
-    else:
-      subCommandCase.add(quote do: `args`[0])
-
     for sub in cfg.subcommands:
       subCommandCase.add nnkOfBranch.newTree(
-        newLit(optionNormalize(sub.subName)),
+        newLit(sub.subName),
         hwylCliImpl(sub)
       )
 
     subcommandCase.add nnkElse.newTree(
       quote do:
-        hwylCliError("unknown subcommand: [b]" & `args`[0])
+        hwylCliError("unknown subcommand " & `args`[0])
     )
 
     runBody.add handleSubCommands.add subCommandCase
-
+  
   result.add quote do:
     # block:
       `printHelperProc`
@@ -780,7 +708,7 @@ func hwylCliImpl(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
         let `args` = `parserProcName`(`cmdLine`)
         `runBody`
 
-  if cfg.root:
+  if root:
     result.add quote do:
       `runProcName`()
   else:
@@ -789,6 +717,51 @@ func hwylCliImpl(cfg: CliCfg): NimNode =
 
 macro hwylCli*(body: untyped) =
   ## generate a CLI styled by `hwylterm` and parsed by `parseopt3`
-  var cfg = parseCliBody(body, root = true)
+  var cfg = parseCliBody(body)
-  hwylCliImpl(cfg)
+  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"
+        * @["config.yml"]
+    flags:
+      check:
+        T bool
+        ? "load config and exit"
+        - c
+    run:
+      echo "hello from the main command"
+      echo fmt"{config=}, {check=}"
+    subcommands:
+      --- a
+      ... "the \"a\" subcommand"
+      flags:
+        `long-flag` "some help"
+        flagg       "some other help"
+      run:
+        echo "hello from hwylterm sub command!"
+      --- b
+      ... """
+      some "B" command
+
+      a longer mulitline description that will be visibil in the subcommand help
+      it will automatically be "bb"'ed [bold]this is bold text[/]
+      """
+      flags:
+        aflag:
+          T bool
+          ? "some help"
+        bflag:
+          ? "some other flag?"
+          * "wow"
+      run:
+        echo "hello from hwylterm sub `b` command"
+        echo aflag, bflag
+
 

tests/example.nim

@@ -1,74 +0,0 @@
-import std/[strformat, strutils]
-import hwylterm, hwylterm/hwylcli
-
-
-type
-  Color = enum
-    red, blue, green
-
-
-hwylCli:
-  name "example"
-  V "0.1.0"
-  ... "a description of hwylterm"
-  flags:
-    [global]
-    yes:
-      T bool
-      ? "set flag to yes"
-    [config]
-    confiG:
-      T seq[string]
-      ? "path to config file"
-      * @["config.yml"]
-  preSub:
-    echo "this is run after subcommand parsing but before its run block"
-  run:
-    echo "this is always run prior to subcommand parsing"
-  subcommands:
-    --- "onelonger"
-    ... """
-    the first subcommand
-
-    this command features both an enum flag and a Count flag
-    it also inherits the `[[config]` flag group
-    """
-
-    flags:
-      color:
-        T Color
-        ? "a color (red, green, blue)"
-      verbose:
-        T Count
-        ? "a count flag"
-        - v
-      ^[config]
-    run:
-      echo "hello from `example one` command!"
-      echo fmt"{color=}"
-      echo fmt"{verbose=}"
-      echo fmt"{config=}"
-
-    --- "two-longer"
-    ... """
-    some second subcommand
-
-    a longer mulitline description that will be visible in the subcommand help
-    and it will automatically be "bb"'ed [bold]this is bold text[/]
-
-
-
-    """
-    flags:
-      a:
-        T bool
-        ? "some help"
-      b:
-        T seq[float]
-        ? "multiple floats"
-      h "this will override the builtin 'h' for help"
-    run:
-      echo "hello from `example b` command"
-      echo fmt"{a=}, {b=}"
-
-

todo.md

@@ -14,9 +14,25 @@
 - [ ] add a `commands` option for `newHwylCli` in `hwylterm/cli`
 - [ ] console object with customizable options to apply formatting
 
-### cli generator
+### cli generato
 
 - [ ] add support for types(metavars)/defaults/required in help output
+- [ ] abstract the `globalFlags` argument to a `flagGroups` section with a builtin `global`
+      this would allow users to "inherit" flag groups in subcommands
+      ```nim
+      flags:
+        # global flag group auto propagated down
+        --- global
+        config "path to config"
+        --- shared
+        shared:
+          `a-flag` "some shared flag"
+      -- sub
+      flags:
+        ^shared
+        unique "some unique flag"
+      ```
+
 
 
 ## features