subcommands can't have a --version option

[jamesarosen]

A primary command can take a --version option with the following code:

args.option('version', 'The version of the thing');

const flags = args.parse(process.argv, {
  version: false,
});

When I run my-command my-subcommand --help, I see

 -v, --version        The version of the thing

But when I run my-command my-subcommand --version=foo, flags.version is unpopulated.

[jamesarosen]

The --version does work if I specify version: false in both the super-command and the sub-command. That is, the automatic --version from the super-command shadows the one from the sub-command.

[ntwcklng]

This example works for me:
foo.js

#!/usr/bin/env node

const args = require('args')

args
  .option('version', 'version opt main')
  .command('bar', 'subcmd')

const flags = args.parse(process.argv, {version: false})

foo-bar.js

#!/usr/bin/env node

const args = require('args')

args.option('version', 'version opt sub')

const flags = args.parse(process.argv, {version: false})

 $ foo --help

  Usage: foo [options] [command]
  
  Commands:
  
    bar   subcmd
    help  Display help
  
  Options:
  
    -h, --help     Output usage information
    -v, --version  version opt main
  
 $ foo bar --help

  Usage: foo bar [options] [command]
  
  Commands:
  
    help  Display help
  
  Options:
  
    -h, --help     Output usage information
    -v, --version  version opt sub

When i remove the version option from the main command, the version option from the subcommand still works:
foo.js

#!/usr/bin/env node

const args = require('args')

args
  .command('bar', 'subcmd')

const flags = args.parse(process.argv)

 $ foo bar --help

  Usage: foo bar [options] [command]
  
  Commands:
  
    help  Display help
  
  Options:
  
    -h, --help     Output usage information
    -v, --version  version opt sub
  
 $ foo --help

  Usage: foo [options] [command]
  
  Commands:
  
    bar   subcmd
    help  Display help
  
  Options:
  
    -h, --help     Output usage information
    -v, --version  Output the version number

Can you give us a gist or repo where is does not work?

[jamesarosen]

As I said above, it works as I expect if both foo and foo-bar have { version: false }.

foo:

#!/usr/bin/env node
const args = require('args')
args
  .option('version', 'version opt main')
  .command('bar', 'subcmd')
const flags = args.parse(process.argv) // no version: false
console.log(flags)

foo-bar:

#!/usr/bin/env node
const args = require('args')
args.option('version', 'version opt sub')
const flags = args.parse(process.argv, {version: false})
console.log(flags)

$ PATH=.:$PATH foo bar --version=9
-/-

If I add { version: false } to foo, then I get

$ PATH+.:$PATH foo bar --version=9
{}
{ v: '9', version: '9' }

That is, in my parent command (foo), I don't have use for a version. It's only foo-bar that knows about it. But unless I set { version: false } on both, foo's default one shadows foo-bar's custom one.

[ntwcklng]

Oh okay, i've never tested it with the flag, just looked at the --help output - my bad! Do you want to commit a fix for that?

[jamesarosen]

Do you want to commit a fix for that?

We actually switched over to commander because it lets us define subcommands' actions in JavaScript rather than require they be on the PATH. (That's important because we want to install our commands as dependencies of a project rather than have developers install them with -g.)

But my guess is that the relevant code is in checkVersion. One oddity there is if (version), but version is always truthy because it's defined as

const version = parent.exports.version || '-/-';

[ntwcklng]

@jamesarosen this is also possible with args. You can put your code in the init function like this:

args.command('foo','foo subcommand', () => { 
// your code 
})

Then, the initfunction gets executed instead of running the binary for the subcommand.

[jamesarosen]

I missed

If a function was passed through at this parameter, args will call it instead of running the binary related to that command. The function receives three arguments:

in the readme. Nice!