# adishavit/argh

Argh! A minimalist argument handler.

Repository: https://github.com/adishavit/argh
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/adishavit-argh
Language: C++
License: BSD-3-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: command-line, cpp11, cli-args, getopt, getopts, header-only, single-file, argument-parser, cli, command-line-parser
Last push: 2025-01-21T09:38:36+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 24/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 2, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3680, "days_push": 589, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1440, forks 98 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:44.140768+00:00)

## What it is
Argh! is a minimalist, single-header C++11 command-line argument parser with no external dependencies. It takes a laissez-faire approach to parsing, using simple [] and () operators instead of verbose setup, validation, or usage-message generation.

## Use cases
- parse command line arguments in a C++ program
- quickly handle CLI flags and options without dependencies
- replace getopt or Boost.Program_options with something simpler
- prototype a command-line tool with minimal fuss
- parse positional parameters, flags, and options in C++11

## When to choose
- you want a single header file with zero non-std dependencies
- you need fast, fuss-free argument handling for prototyping or small tools
- you prefer minimal API over auto-generated usage messages and validation
- you want any command line accepted without exceptions

## When to avoid
- you need automatic usage/help message generation
- you need strict syntax validation or type binding out of the box
- you are building a highly sophisticated command-line tool with many advanced options

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: parser, cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, parsers
- platform: cpp, cross-platform, cli
- tags: header-only, argument-parsing, cpp11, single-file, minimalist, getopt-alternative, command-line

## Member repositories
- adishavit/argh (main) score 24

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:44.140768+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:36:30.711164+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/adishavit/argh (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:44.140768+00:00, sha b20e972c41dc)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.