---
id: rich-argparse
version: "1.8.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# rich-argparse — Rich help formatters for argparse and optparse

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Popularity: top 1,000 on PyPI

## Install

pip install rich-argparse
uv add rich-argparse
poetry add rich-argparse

## Description

# rich-argparse

![python -m rich_argparse](
https://github.com/hamdanal/rich-argparse/assets/93259987/5eb719ce-9865-4654-a5c6-04950a86d40d)

[![tests](https://github.com/hamdanal/rich-argparse/actions/workflows/tests.yml/badge.svg)
](https://github.com/hamdanal/rich-argparse/actions/workflows/tests.yml)
[![pre-commit.ci status](https://results.pre-commit.ci/badge/github/hamdanal/rich-argparse/main.svg)
](https://results.pre-commit.ci/latest/github/hamdanal/rich-argparse/main)
[![Downloads](https://img.shields.io/pypi/dm/rich-argparse)](https://pypistats.org/packages/rich-argparse)
[![Python Version](https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/rich-argparse)
![Release](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rich-argparse)
](https://pypi.org/project/rich-argparse/)

Format argparse and optparse help using [rich](https://pypi.org/project/rich).

*rich-argparse* improves the look and readability of argparse's help while requiring minimal
changes to the code.

## Table of contents

* [Installation](#installation)
* [Usage](#usage)
* [Output styles](#output-styles)
  * [Customizing colors](#customize-the-colors)
  * [Group name formatting](#customize-the-group-name-format)
  * [Special text...

## AI interpretation — verify before relying

Formats argparse and optparse help output with rich styling, colors, and improved readability while requiring minimal code changes to existing argument parsers.

Verdict: Production-ready package (stable status, no known vulnerabilities) that enhances argparse help output with minimal overhead. Single lightweight dependency on rich, active maintenance, and permissive MIT license make it a low-risk addition to CLI projects.

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/rich-argparse) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/rich-argparse/)