Overriding default argparse -h behaviour

Overriding default argparse -h behaviour

The argparse module in Python provides a built-in help message that is triggered when the -h or --help command-line option is used. To override or customize the default argparse help behavior, you can subclass argparse.ArgumentParser and provide your custom help message.

Here's an example of how to do this:

import argparse

class CustomArgumentParser(argparse.ArgumentParser):
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)

        # Customize the help message
        self.add_argument(
            '-c', '--custom',
            action='store_true',
            help='Custom help message for the -c/--custom option.'
        )

if __name__ == '__main__':
    parser = CustomArgumentParser(description='My Custom Parser')
    parser.add_argument('-a', '--optionA', help='Option A description')
    parser.add_argument('-b', '--optionB', help='Option B description')
    
    args = parser.parse_args()
    
    if args.custom:
        print("Custom option is enabled.")
    else:
        print("Custom option is not enabled.")

In this example:

  1. We create a custom argument parser class CustomArgumentParser that inherits from argparse.ArgumentParser.

  2. Inside the __init__ method of our custom parser, we call the superclass constructor using super(). Then, we add a custom argument -c or --custom with a custom help message.

  3. When you create an instance of CustomArgumentParser, you can add your other command-line arguments as usual. These arguments will be included in the help message along with the custom -c option.

  4. When you run your script with the -h or --help option, the custom help message will be displayed along with the help for other arguments:

    usage: script.py [-h] [-a OPTIONA] [-b OPTIONB] [-c]

My Custom Parser

optional arguments:
  -h, --help   show this help message and exit
  -a OPTIONA, --optionA OPTIONA
                Option A description
  -b OPTIONB, --optionB OPTIONB
                Option B description
  -c, --custom  Custom help message for the -c/--custom option.

This allows you to provide a customized help message for specific command-line options while retaining the standard argparse help functionality for other options.

Examples

  1. How to override default argparse help behavior in Python?

    Description: Override the default argparse help behavior in Python by subclassing argparse.ArgumentParser and customizing the print_help() method to change the output format or content.

    import argparse

class CustomArgumentParser(argparse.ArgumentParser):
    def print_help(self, file=None):
        # Custom help message formatting or content
        custom_help = "Custom help message here"
        print(custom_help)

# Example usage
parser = CustomArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('-f', '--file', help='Input file')
parser.print_help()

  2. Python argparse change help message format

    Description: Change the format of the help message generated by argparse in Python by overriding the format_help() method of argparse.ArgumentParser.

    import argparse

class CustomArgumentParser(argparse.ArgumentParser):
    def format_help(self):
        # Custom help message formatting
        custom_help = "Custom help message here"
        return custom_help

# Example usage
parser = CustomArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('-f', '--file', help='Input file')
parser.print_help()

  3. Customize argparse help output in Python

    Description: Customize the help output of argparse in Python by subclassing argparse.HelpFormatter and implementing the desired formatting logic.

    import argparse

class CustomHelpFormatter(argparse.HelpFormatter):
    def format_help(self):
        # Custom help message formatting logic
        custom_help = "Custom help message here"
        return custom_help

# Example usage
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(formatter_class=CustomHelpFormatter)
parser.add_argument('-f', '--file', help='Input file')
parser.print_help()

  4. Modify argparse help output

    Description: Modify the default help output generated by argparse in Python by subclassing argparse.HelpFormatter and overriding its methods.

    import argparse

class CustomHelpFormatter(argparse.HelpFormatter):
    def add_usage(self, usage, actions, groups, prefix=None):
        # Custom usage message modification
        custom_usage = "Custom usage message here"
        return super().add_usage(custom_usage, actions, groups, prefix)

# Example usage
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(formatter_class=CustomHelpFormatter)
parser.add_argument('-f', '--file', help='Input file')
parser.print_help()

  5. Python argparse custom help text

    Description: Provide custom help text for argparse in Python by subclassing argparse.ArgumentParser and overriding the format_help() method.

    import argparse

class CustomArgumentParser(argparse.ArgumentParser):
    def format_help(self):
        # Custom help message
        custom_help = "Custom help message here"
        return custom_help

# Example usage
parser = CustomArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('-f', '--file', help='Input file')
parser.print_help()

  6. Change argparse help message format Python

    Description: Change the format of the help message generated by argparse in Python by overriding the format_help() method of argparse.ArgumentParser.

    import argparse

class CustomArgumentParser(argparse.ArgumentParser):
    def format_help(self):
        # Custom help message formatting
        custom_help = "Custom help message here"
        return custom_help

# Example usage
parser = CustomArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('-f', '--file', help='Input file')
parser.print_help()

  7. Customize argparse help message in Python

    Description: Customize the help message generated by argparse in Python by subclassing argparse.ArgumentParser and overriding the print_help() method.

    import argparse

class CustomArgumentParser(argparse.ArgumentParser):
    def print_help(self, file=None):
        # Custom help message formatting or content
        custom_help = "Custom help message here"
        print(custom_help)

# Example usage
parser = CustomArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('-f', '--file', help='Input file')
parser.print_help()

  8. Python argparse custom help formatter

    Description: Create a custom help formatter for argparse in Python by subclassing argparse.HelpFormatter and implementing custom formatting logic.

    import argparse

class CustomHelpFormatter(argparse.HelpFormatter):
    def format_help(self):
        # Custom help message formatting logic
        custom_help = "Custom help message here"
        return custom_help

# Example usage
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(formatter_class=CustomHelpFormatter)
parser.add_argument('-f', '--file', help='Input file')
parser.print_help()

  9. How to change argparse help message in Python script?

    Description: Change the default help message generated by argparse in a Python script by subclassing argparse.ArgumentParser and overriding its methods.

    import argparse

class CustomArgumentParser(argparse.ArgumentParser):
    def format_help(self):
        # Custom help message
        custom_help = "Custom help message here"
        return custom_help

# Example usage
parser = CustomArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('-f', '--file', help='Input file')
parser.print_help()

More Tags

bitmap insert-update phonegap-plugins selectize.js xib responsive-design file ethernet sniffing messagebox

More Python Questions

More Fitness Calculators

More Biology Calculators

More Investment Calculators

More Electrochemistry Calculators