Spectre.Console

Built-in Command Behaviors

A reference describing Spectre.Console.Cli's built-in behaviors and conventions for completeness

Spectre.Console.Cli includes several built-in commands for diagnostics, documentation generation, and version information. These commands are registered in a hidden cli branch.

Quick Reference

Command Access Purpose
version cli version or --version Display library versions
explain cli explain Show CLI configuration diagnostics
xmldoc cli xmldoc Generate XML documentation
opencli cli opencli or --help-dump-opencli Generate OpenCli specification

Version Command

Displays version information for Spectre.Console libraries.

Access:

myapp cli version
myapp --version
myapp -v

Output:

Spectre.Console.Cli version 1.0.0
Spectre.Console version 1.0.0

The -v / --version global option requires ApplicationVersion to be configured in the application.

Explain Command

Displays a diagnostic tree view of the CLI configuration, showing all registered commands, options, and arguments.

Access:

myapp cli explain
myapp cli explain <command>

Options:

Option Description
[command] Optional command path to explain
-d, --detailed Include detailed parameter information
--hidden Include hidden commands and options

Examples:

myapp cli explain                    # Show all commands
myapp cli explain add                # Show specific command
myapp cli explain --detailed         # Show parameter details
myapp cli explain --hidden           # Include hidden items

Output includes:

  • Application name and parsing mode
  • Command tree with descriptions
  • Parameter types and kinds (Option/Argument)
  • Option aliases (short and long names)
  • Argument positions
  • Validators and default values
  • Examples and aliases

XmlDoc Command

Generates machine-readable XML documentation of the CLI configuration. Useful for automated documentation generation and tooling integration.

Access:

myapp cli xmldoc

Output format:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Model>
  <Command Name="add" ClrType="AddCommand" Settings="AddSettings">
    <Description>Add a new item</Description>
    <Parameters>
      <Argument Name="name" Position="0" Required="true" Kind="Scalar" />
      <Option Short="v" Long="verbose" Required="false" Kind="Flag" />
    </Parameters>
    <Examples>
      <Example>add item --verbose</Example>
    </Examples>
  </Command>
</Model>

Included metadata:

  • Command names, types, and settings classes
  • Parameter positions, requirements, and CLR types
  • Validators and type converters
  • Examples and descriptions
  • Nested command hierarchy

Hidden commands are excluded from output.

OpenCli Command

Generates an OpenCli specification document compatible with the OpenCli 0.1-draft standard for CLI tool interoperability.

Access:

myapp cli opencli
myapp --help-dump-opencli

Output includes:

  • OpenCli version identifier
  • Application info (name and version)
  • Complete command listing with:
    • Names and aliases
    • Descriptions
    • Arguments and options with metadata
    • Examples
    • Nested subcommands

Built-in commands and empty branches are excluded from output.

Built-in Help

The -h / --help option is automatically available on all commands.

Access:

myapp --help
myapp -h
myapp <command> --help

Output includes:

  • Command description
  • Usage syntax
  • Available arguments with descriptions
  • Available options with descriptions and defaults
  • Subcommands (if any)
  • Examples (if configured)

See Also