# matejak/argbash

Bash argument parsing code generator

Repository: https://github.com/matejak/argbash
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/argbash
Homepage: https://argbash.dev
Language: M4
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: argument-parsing, shell-scripts, code-generator
Last push: 2025-07-17T21:41:04+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 37/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 32, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4038, "days_push": 412, "days_rel": 468, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1483, forks 66 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:51.213018+00:00)

## What it is
Argbash is a code generator that produces tailor-made Bash argument-parsing code from short argument definitions embedded in your scripts. It supports positional and optional arguments, long options, and works on all platforms with Bash.

## Use cases
- add command-line argument parsing to a bash script
- generate bash script with long options support
- replace getopts with long-option parsing
- create CLI interface for shell script quickly
- regenerate argument parsing code from embedded definitions
- make shell scripts accept positional and optional arguments

## When to choose
- you write Bash scripts that need a proper CLI with minimal effort
- you need cross-platform argument parsing without external dependencies at runtime
- you want parsing code embedded in the script itself for easy regeneration

## When to avoid
- you need argument parsing in languages other than Bash
- you prefer a runtime parsing library over generated code
- your scripts must run in POSIX sh without Bash

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, parser, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: windows, cross-platform, cli
- tags: bash, shell-scripts, argument-parsing, code-generator, m4, getopts-alternative, code-generation, command-line, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- matejak/argbash (main) score 37

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:51.213018+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 2026-08-30T04:34:03.430233+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/matejak/argbash (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:51.213018+00:00, sha aa8bac314544)
  - homepage: https://argbash.dev (fetched 2026-08-29T11:40:30.211444+00:00, sha 016f149ccfc5)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.