Combining shorthand flags before command names does not work #2188
Description
How to reproduce:
- Compile the following source code which defines some commands & flags (
go build ./mycli.go):
package main
import (
"fmt"
"os"
"github.com/spf13/cobra"
)
var (
aFlag bool
bFlag bool
cFlag string
)
func main() {
// Define commands
var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
Use: "mycli",
}
var firstCmd = &cobra.Command{
Use: "first",
}
var secondCmd = &cobra.Command{
Use: "second",
Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
if aFlag {
fmt.Println("flag A is set")
}
if bFlag {
fmt.Println("flag B is set")
}
if cFlag != "" {
fmt.Printf("flag C is set with value: %s\n", cFlag)
}
},
}
// Define flags
rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&aFlag, "set-A", "A", false, "Set the A flag")
rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&bFlag, "set-B", "B", false, "Set the B flag")
rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&cFlag, "set-C", "C", "", "Set the C flag with a value")
firstCmd.AddCommand(secondCmd)
rootCmd.AddCommand(firstCmd)
if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
os.Exit(1)
}
}- Notice how this command does not work:
$ ./mycli -ABC elephant first second
Error: unknown command "elephant" for "mycli"
Run 'mycli --help' for usage.
unknown command "elephant" for "mycli"
- However, those commands work:
$ ./mycli -ABC=elephant first second
flag A is set
flag B is set
flag C is set with value: elephant
$ ./mycli first second -ABC elephant
flag A is set
flag B is set
flag C is set with value: elephant
So why does ./mycli -ABC elephant first second not work? It seems like it should have no problem noticing that the last flag in the bundle, -C, takes an argument, and therefore not consider elephant as a command name, but as an argument to -C.
Is this a bug, a missing feature, or intended behavior?
Thanks!