Clap Patterns

Common patterns and idioms for using Clap v4+ effectively in Rust CLI applications.

Derive API vs Builder API

When to Use Derive API

• CLI structure known at compile time
• Want type safety and compile-time validation
• Prefer declarative style
• Standard CLI patterns are sufficient

#[derive(Parser)]
#[command(version, about)]
struct Cli {
    #[arg(short, long)]
    input: PathBuf,
}

When to Use Builder API

• CLI needs to be built dynamically at runtime
• Building plugin systems
• Arguments depend on configuration
• Need maximum flexibility

fn build_cli() -> Command {
    Command::new("app")
        .arg(Arg::new("input").short('i'))
}

Common Patterns

Global Options with Subcommands

#[derive(Parser)]
struct Cli {
    #[arg(short, long, global = true, action = ArgAction::Count)]
    verbose: u8,

    #[command(subcommand)]
    command: Commands,
}

Argument Groups for Mutual Exclusivity

#[derive(Parser)]
#[command(group(
    ArgGroup::new("format")
        .required(true)
        .args(&["json", "yaml", "toml"])
))]
struct Cli {
    #[arg(long)]
    json: bool,
    #[arg(long)]
    yaml: bool,
    #[arg(long)]
    toml: bool,
}

Custom Value Parsers

fn parse_port(s: &str) -> Result<u16, String> {
    let port: u16 = s.parse()
        .map_err(|_| format!("`{s}` isn't a valid port"))?;
    if (1024..=65535).contains(&port) {
        Ok(port)
    } else {
        Err(format!("port not in range 1024-65535"))
    }
}

#[derive(Parser)]
struct Cli {
    #[arg(long, value_parser = parse_port)]
    port: u16,
}

Environment Variable Fallbacks

#[derive(Parser)]
struct Cli {
    #[arg(long, env = "API_TOKEN")]
    token: String,

    #[arg(long, env = "API_ENDPOINT", default_value = "https://api.example.com")]
    endpoint: String,
}

Flattening Shared Options

#[derive(Args)]
struct CommonOpts {
    #[arg(short, long)]
    verbose: bool,

    #[arg(short, long)]
    config: Option<PathBuf>,
}

#[derive(Parser)]
struct Cli {
    #[command(flatten)]
    common: CommonOpts,

    #[command(subcommand)]
    command: Commands,
}

Multiple Values

#[derive(Parser)]
struct Cli {
    /// Tags (can be specified multiple times)
    #[arg(short, long)]
    tag: Vec<String>,

    /// Files to process
    files: Vec<PathBuf>,
}
// Usage: myapp --tag rust --tag cli file1.txt file2.txt

Subcommand with Shared Arguments

#[derive(Parser)]
struct Cli {
    #[command(subcommand)]
    command: Commands,
}

#[derive(Subcommand)]
enum Commands {
    Build(BuildArgs),
    Test(TestArgs),
}

#[derive(Args)]
struct BuildArgs {
    #[command(flatten)]
    common: CommonOpts,

    #[arg(short, long)]
    release: bool,
}

Argument Counting (Verbosity Levels)

#[derive(Parser)]
struct Cli {
    /// Verbosity (-v, -vv, -vvv)
    #[arg(short, long, action = ArgAction::Count)]
    verbose: u8,
}
// Usage: -v (1), -vv (2), -vvv (3)

Help Template Customization

#[derive(Parser)]
#[command(
    after_help = "EXAMPLES:\n  \
        myapp --input file.txt\n  \
        myapp -i file.txt -vv\n\n\
        For more info: https://example.com"
)]
struct Cli {
    // ...
}

Value Hints

#[derive(Parser)]
struct Cli {
    #[arg(short, long, value_name = "FILE", value_hint = ValueHint::FilePath)]
    input: PathBuf,

    #[arg(short, long, value_name = "DIR", value_hint = ValueHint::DirPath)]
    output: PathBuf,

    #[arg(short, long, value_name = "URL", value_hint = ValueHint::Url)]
    endpoint: String,
}

Default Values with Functions

fn default_config_path() -> PathBuf {
    dirs::config_dir()
        .unwrap()
        .join("myapp")
        .join("config.toml")
}

#[derive(Parser)]
struct Cli {
    #[arg(long, default_value_os_t = default_config_path())]
    config: PathBuf,
}

Best Practices

1. Use value_name for clearer help text
2. Provide both short and long flags where appropriate
3. Add help text to all arguments
4. Use ValueEnum for fixed set of choices
5. Validate early with custom parsers
6. Support environment variables for sensitive data
7. Use argument groups for mutually exclusive options
8. Document with examples in after_help
9. Use semantic types (PathBuf, not String for paths)
10. Test CLI parsing with integration tests

References

• Clap Documentation
• Clap Derive Reference
• Clap Examples