Replacements for argument parsers

util.parseArgs (native, since Node.js 16.x)

util.parseArgs is built into Node.js (since 18.3.0 and 16.17.0) and can replace many common CLI options parsing libraries.

Example:

import { parseArgs } from 'node:util'

const { values, positionals } = parseArgs({
  args: process.argv.slice(2),
  options: {
    force: { type: 'boolean', short: 'f' },
    output: { type: 'string', short: 'o' }
  },
  allowPositionals: true
})

NOTE

parseArgs only supports string and boolean types. If you'd like to support stronger types, one of the other options may be a better fit.

mri

mri is a minimalistic argument parser that supports both short and long options, as well as positional arguments.

Example:

import mri from 'mri'

const options = mri(process.argv.slice(2), {
  alias: {
    f: 'force',
    o: 'output'
  },
  boolean: ['force']
})

CLI builders

If you need a CLI builder, check the the CLI builders page.