# commandlineparser/commandline

The best C# command line parser that brings standardized *nix getopt style, for .NET.  Includes F# support

Repository: https://github.com/commandlineparser/commandline
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/commandline
Language: C#
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: command-line, dotnet, dotnet-core
Last push: 2024-02-29T17:02:27+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3224, "days_push": 916, "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 4816, forks 478 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:00.400285+00:00)

## What it is
CommandLineParser is a C# library for parsing command line arguments in .NET applications, offering a getopt-style API for defining options, switches, and verb commands. It includes automatic help screen generation, syntax error reporting, and optional F# support.

## Use cases
- parse command line arguments in a .NET console app
- define git-style verb commands like 'commit' and 'add'
- auto-generate a customizable help screen for a CLI tool
- report syntax errors to users of a command line utility
- support mutually exclusive options and default values in a CLI
- build a cross-platform CLI tool with .NET Core or .NET Standard

## When to choose
- you're building a .NET or .NET Core console application that needs robust argument parsing
- you want standardized *nix getopt-style parsing with minimal dependencies
- you need automatic, customizable help text and error reporting
- you want verb-command support similar to git's CLI structure

## When to avoid
- you're not working in the .NET ecosystem
- you need a full CLI framework with prompts, colors, or interactive features rather than pure parsing
- your project requires a very lightweight or zero-dependency solution beyond what base libraries provide

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: parser, cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: dotnet, cross-platform, windows
- tags: command-line-parsing, getopt, fsharp-support, help-text-generation, nuget, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- commandlineparser/commandline (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:00.400285+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 2026-08-29T18:18:34.345337+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/commandlineparser/commandline (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:00.400285+00:00, sha a544be3b6bd5)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.