CAC

Use CAC to build small, expressive CLIs with a compact command grammar:

import { cac } from 'cac'

const cli = cac('my-cli')

cli
  .command('build <entry> [...files]', 'Build project files')
  .option('--minify', 'Minify output')
  .action((entry, files, options) => {
    console.info({ entry, files, options })
  })

cli.help()
cli.version('1.0.0')
cli.parse()

Install with pnpm add cac.

Build CLIs This Way

1. Choose the command shape first.
   • Use global parsing only for tiny CLIs.
   • Use cli.command(...) for verb-based CLIs.
   • Use a default command when the main behavior should run without an explicit verb.
2. Model positional arguments before options.
   • <arg> is required.
   • [arg] is optional.
   • ... is variadic and may only appear on the final positional argument.
3. Attach options at the narrowest useful scope.
   • Use cli.option(...) for flags shared by multiple commands.
   • Use command.option(...) for command-specific flags.
4. Add help() and version() for user-facing tools.
5. Use plain cli.parse() for simple flows; use cli.parse(argv, { run: false }) plus await cli.runMatchedCommand() when you need centralized or async error handling.

Syntax and Parsing

Need	CAC form	Result
Required arg	build <entry>	action receives entry
Optional arg	build [entry]	action receives undefined when omitted
Variadic arg	build <entry> [...rest]	final action arg is an array
Boolean flag	--open	accepts both --open and --no-open automatically
Optional option value	--scale [level]	value or true
Required option value	--out <dir>	missing value throws
Global option	cli.option('--cwd <dir>', ...)	available to all commands
Command option	command.option('--watch', ...)	scoped to one command
Repeated option	--include a --include b	becomes ['a', 'b']
Dot-nested option	--env.API_SECRET xxx	becomes options.env.API_SECRET
Passthrough args	-- pnpm test	stored in options['--']

Kebab-case option names are read in camelCase:

cli.option('--clear-screen', 'Clear screen')
// read options.clearScreen

Only the first segment is camel-cased, so --env.API_SECRET becomes options.env.API_SECRET.

Bare booleans already accept negation:

cli.option('--open', 'Open browser')
// --open    -> { open: true }
// --no-open -> { open: false }

Declare an explicit negated option only when the negated form should appear in help, should default to true, or must pair with a required-value option:

cli
  .option('--no-config', 'Disable config file')
  .option('--config <path>', 'Use a custom config file')

For array-valued options, prefer repeated flags:

--include a --include b --include c

CAC parses that as:

{ include: ['a', 'b', 'c'] }

Do not model array input as --include a,b,c and split the string manually unless the CLI intentionally documents comma-separated syntax. If consumers should always receive an array, use type: [] so even one --include a becomes ['a'].

Scenario References

Use the reference that matches the user's task:

Scenario	Reference
Parse args plus global options	basic-usage
Parse explicit argv outside normal Node flow	browser
Add examples to command help	command-examples
Add command-scoped options	command-options
Define an empty-name default command	default-command
Make a named command also act as default	default-command-inverted
Use CAC from Deno	deno
Parse nested option keys	dot-nested-options
Combine help, version, global options, and a default command	help
Show defaults in help without filling parsed output	ignore-default-value
Declare an explicit negated option	negated-option
Combine multiple subcommands in one CLI	sub-command
Accept trailing positional lists	variadic-arguments

Centralized Error Handling

try {
  cli.parse(process.argv, { run: false })
  await cli.runMatchedCommand()
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error)
  process.exit(1)
}

Important Behaviors

• When a matched command has an action, CAC validates unknown options, missing option values, missing required args, and unused extra args.
• Use allowUnknownOptions() only when forwarding another tool's flags.
• Use ignoreOptionDefaultValue() when help should show defaults but parsed output should stay sparse.
• Variadic positional args arrive as arrays.
• options['--'] is reserved for everything after a double dash.
• command.alias(name) accepts plain aliases; use alias('!') to mark a named command as the default command.
• Listen to command:<name>, command:!, and command:* when you need matched/default/unknown-command hooks.

API Surface

CLI

cac(name?)
cli.command(name, description?, config?)
cli.option(name, description, config?)
cli.help(callback?)
cli.version(version, customFlags?)
cli.usage(text)
cli.example(example)
cli.parse(argv?, { run }?)
cli.runMatchedCommand()
cli.outputHelp()
cli.outputVersion()

cli.parse() returns { args, options } and also sets:

cli.rawArgs
cli.args
cli.options
cli.matchedCommand
cli.matchedCommandName

Command

command.option(name, description, config?)
command.action(callback)
command.alias(name)
command.allowUnknownOptions()
command.ignoreOptionDefaultValue()
command.example(example)
command.usage(text)

Option config supports:

{
  default?: any
  type?: any[]
}

Use type: [] to force array output and type: [String] to transform each value.