decli
Minimal, easy-to-use, declarative cli tool
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you are building a CLI-heavy application and prefer declarative, dictionary-based configuration over imperative argparse calls. The zero-dependency install and permissive license make it low-risk. However, note that maintenance is aging (last release 439 days ago), so do not expect active development or rapid fixes for edge cases.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction; pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies.
- Maintenance status is aging (439 days since last release), so expect no active development or rapid bug fixes.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute decli freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2025-06-01 (439 days)
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 3,907,358 downloads/mo, #2,456 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
from decli import cli
data = {
"prog": "myapp",
"description": "Process integers",
"arguments": [
{"name": "integers", "type": int, "nargs": "+"},
{"name": "--sum", "action": "store_true"}
]
}
parser = cli(data)
args = parser.parse_args()- Whether the package is actively maintained or in maintenance-only mode despite the aging status
- Real-world performance or scalability limits when handling very large numbers of arguments or deeply nested subcommands
What it is and what it does
Decli is a thin declarative wrapper around Python's argparse library. Instead of writing imperative parser setup code with repeated add_argument() calls, you define your CLI structure as a nested dictionary—specifying prog name, description, arguments, subcommands, and argument groups—then pass it to the cli() function to get a ready-to-use parser. It accepts all standard argparse argument options (action, nargs, type, choices, help, metavar, dest, etc.) and adds support for argument grouping and a func parameter on subcommands to map commands to handler functions.
The package is designed for developers building larger applications with many arguments and subcommands who want their CLI definition to be more readable and maintainable than traditional argparse boilerplate. It has no external runtime dependencies and works with Python 3.9 through 3.13.
Use it for
- Build a multi-command CLI tool (like git or docker) by defining subcommands and their handlers in a single data structure
- Rapidly prototype a command-line interface for a Python application without writing repetitive argparse setup code
- Organize related arguments into logical groups for clearer help output and better code readability
- Create a CLI where each subcommand maps to a specific function, keeping interface definition separate from business logic
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you are building a CLI-heavy application and prefer declarative, dictionary-based configuration over imperative argparse calls.
The zero-dependency install and permissive license make it low-risk. However, note that maintenance is aging (last release 439 days ago), so do not expect active development or rapid fixes for edge cases.
Install
decli on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction; pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance status is aging (439 days since last release), so expect no active development or rapid bug fixes.
License in practice
MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute decli freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
from decli import cli
data = {
"prog": "myapp",
"description": "Process integers",
"arguments": [
{"name": "integers", "type": int, "nargs": "+"},
{"name": "--sum", "action": "store_true"}
]
}
parser = cli(data)
args = parser.parse_args()Verify before relying
- Whether the package is actively maintained or in maintenance-only mode despite the aging status
- Real-world performance or scalability limits when handling very large numbers of arguments or deeply nested subcommands
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Aging 439 days since the last release |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 3,907,358 / month, #2,456 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9 |
Evidence: decli-0.6.3-py3-none-any.whl
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See also argparse-dataclass · python-tools-scripts · argh · simple-parsing · clize · autocommand · guacamole · argparse-addons · plac · typed-argument-parser