Spectre.Console.Cli Documentation

Welcome to the Spectre.Console.Cli documentation! Spectre.Console.Cli is a modern framework for building command-line applications in .NET with a focus on type safety and developer experience.

What is Spectre.Console.Cli?

Spectre.Console.Cli is a command-line parsing library that helps you build CLI applications with:

• Type-Safe Commands: Strongly-typed command definitions with compile-time checking
• Automatic Help Generation: Beautiful, consistent help text generated from your code
• Command Hierarchies: Support for complex command structures with subcommands
• Dependency Injection: Built-in support for DI containers
• Validation: Input validation with custom error messages
• Convention over Configuration: Sensible defaults that follow CLI best practices

Installation

Install Spectre.Console.Cli via NuGet:

dotnet add package Spectre.Console.Cli

Getting Started

Tutorials

New to Spectre.Console.Cli? Start here:

• Quick Start: Your First CLI App
• Building a Multi-Command CLI Tool

How-To Guides

Practical guides for specific tasks:

• Defining Commands and Arguments
• Implementing Command Handlers
• Working with Multiple Command Hierarchies

Reference

API documentation and quick lookups:

• Attribute and Parameter Reference
• Configuration API Reference
• Built-in Command Behaviors

Explanation

Concepts and design decisions:

• Design Philosophy: Convention over Configuration
• Command Lifecycle and Execution Flow