cmd.Cmd

class cmd.Cmd(completekey='tab', stdin=None, stdout=None)[source]

A simple framework for writing line-oriented command interpreters.

These are often useful for test harnesses, administrative tools, and prototypes that will later be wrapped in a more sophisticated interface.

A Cmd instance or subclass instance is a line-oriented interpreter framework. There is no good reason to instantiate Cmd itself; rather, it’s useful as a superclass of an interpreter class you define yourself in order to inherit Cmd’s methods and encapsulate action methods.

Methods

__init__([completekey, stdin, stdout]) Instantiate a line-oriented interpreter framework.
cmdloop([intro]) Repeatedly issue a prompt, accept input, parse an initial prefix off the received input, and dispatch to action methods, passing them the remainder of the line as argument.
columnize(list[, displaywidth]) Display a list of strings as a compact set of columns.
complete(text, state) Return the next possible completion for ‘text’.
complete_help(*args)
completedefault(*ignored) Method called to complete an input line when no command-specific complete_*() method is available.
completenames(text, *ignored)
default(line) Called on an input line when the command prefix is not recognized.
do_help(arg) List available commands with “help” or detailed help with “help cmd”.
emptyline() Called when an empty line is entered in response to the prompt.
get_names()
onecmd(line) Interpret the argument as though it had been typed in response to the prompt.
parseline(line) Parse the line into a command name and a string containing the arguments.
postcmd(stop, line) Hook method executed just after a command dispatch is finished.
postloop() Hook method executed once when the cmdloop() method is about to return.
precmd(line) Hook method executed just before the command line is interpreted, but after the input prompt is generated and issued.
preloop() Hook method executed once when the cmdloop() method is called.
print_topics(header, cmds, cmdlen, maxcol)