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tj/commander.js

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1 updates · last 90 days1 watchersOpen source

Last release: 1 week ago

Commander.js is a Node.js package for building command-line interfaces (CLIs). It helps you define commands and options, parses command-line arguments into options and arguments, provides error handling for issues like unknown options, and includes an automated help system.

Project status

  • Actively maintained: Recent tagged updates include a major v15.0.0 in late May 2026, plus earlier v15.0.0-0 and a v14.0.3 update in January 2026, and the upstream has a recent push dated 2026-06-08.
  • Update cadence (apparent): There is a rough pattern of major-level work every few months (Feb 2026 prerelease candidate, May 2026 major), with smaller documentation or policy updates around a month earlier (Jan 2026).

AI summary generated Today

AI-generated from public sources. May be inaccurate. Report

Recent updates

  • v15.0.0

    1 week ago

    Commander v15.0.0 is the ESM-only release, moving the implementation from CommonJS to ESM and requiring newer Node.js versions. The release also adjusts CLI option behavior for certain negated options and improves error/help messaging, while updating the project’s test setup and maintenance policy.

    BreakingFeatures

  • v15.0.0-0

    3 months ago

    Commander 15.0.0-0 is a major release that switches the project to ESM-only and raises the minimum supported Node.js version. The release also includes a behavior correction around negatable boolean options (--no-*) and a change to error output to show excess command arguments.

    BreakingFeatures

  • v14.0.3

    4 months ago

    Release v14.0.3 primarily updates project documentation and maintenance policy. The published release notes mention end-of-life policy adjustments, a typing clarification for `.outputHelp()`, and README wording improvements.

  • v14.0.2

    7 months ago

    Release v14.0.2 is primarily a small behavior adjustment to negative number auto-detection during argument parsing, plus a broad update of development dependencies. The code diff also shows a TypeScript declaration change for deprecated callback-based overloads, and some CI workflow action version bumps that are not mentioned in the release notes.

  • v14.0.1

    8 months ago

    v14.0.1 is a small maintenance release with mostly internal refactors for readability and parsing efficiency, plus a README markdown link fix. The core behavioral-relevant changes are in argument and option variadic collection internals, and a refactor of Command.parseOptions to process the provided args array in-place.

  • v14.0.0

    5/18/2025

    Commander v14.0.0 adds configurable help grouping for options and commands, including per-item headings and default headings applied to subsequently added items. It also improves parsing to accept unescaped negative numbers as option-arguments and command-arguments. The release also enforces a Node.js v20+ requirement.

    BreakingFeatures

  • v13.1.0

    1/20/2025

    v13.1.0 adds support for a pair of long option flags in `.option()`, enabling a “shortish” alias like `.option('--ws, --workspace')`. The underlying option-flag parser (`lib/option.js`) was updated to support this new shape and to change how unsupported flag formats are validated and reported.

    Features

  • v13.0.0

    12/30/2024

    v13.0.0 adds support for calling .parse() multiple times with default settings, backed by new saveStateBeforeParse() and restoreStateBeforeParse() APIs intended for subclass customization. It also enhances help styling and adds help width/wrapping related methods, while introducing several documented breaking changes around argument handling and stricter option parsing.

    BreakingFeatures

  • v13.0.0-0

    12/6/2024

    This release refactors Commander help output to support styling and color-aware wrapping, introducing new Help primitives (like boxWrap, formatItem, and displayWidth) and new styling hooks. It also includes two documented breaking behavioral changes: excess command-arguments now error by default, and invalid option flag formats now throw during Option construction.

    BreakingFeatures

  • v12.1.0

    5/18/2024

    v12.1.0 adds improved argument parsing ergonomics by auto-detecting special Node.js options (such as `node --eval` and `node --print`) when `.parse()` is called with no arguments. It also modernizes the repo tooling (Prettier formatting, ESLint config changes), and extends security support for the previous major version of Commander.

    BreakingSecurityFeatures