dotnet/command-line-api

Command line parsing, invocation, and rendering of terminal output.

View on GitHub ↗Jump to charts ↓Open shareable report

Summary Information

Updated 2 minutes ago
Added to GitGenius on September 18th, 2026
Created on April 17th, 2018
Open Issues & Pull Requests: 483 (+0)
GitHub issues: Enabled
Number of forks: 428
Total Stargazers: 3,675 (+0)
Total Subscribers: 240 (+0)

Repository Insights (GitGenius)

Median issue/PR response: 18.4 hours
Mean response time: 237.6 days
90th percentile: 969.3 days
Tracked items: 333

Most active contributors

Sign in to see contributor activity.

How this project is maintained

About 16% of issues opened in the past year have never received a reply. 87% of open issues come from outside the core team, so the backlog reflects real-world use rather than internal planning. Work labelled "Design" is answered fastest, typically in about 7 hours, while "Area-DragonFruit" waits about 7 weeks. Only 29% of issues opened in the past year have been closed. Three people close 85% of everything that gets resolved.

Charts & Analytics

Fetching additional details & charts...

Issue Activity (beta)

Open issues: 99
New in 7 days: 0
Closed in 7 days: 0
Avg open age: 872 days
Stale 30+ days: 93
Stale 90+ days: 80

Recent activity

Opened in 7 days: 0
Closed in 7 days: 0
Comments in 7 days: 0
Events in 7 days: 0

Top labels

  • bug (65)
  • Powderhouse (51)
  • Area-Rendering (28)
  • Design (28)
  • enhancement (27)
  • Area-DragonFruit (26)
  • Area-API (23)
  • Area-Help (20)

Most active issues this week

No issue events were indexed in the last 7 days.

Detailed Description

System.CommandLine is a command-line parsing library for .NET that handles argument parsing, model binding, command invocation, and terminal output rendering.

The library solves the problem of building robust command-line applications by providing a structured approach to parsing arguments, binding them to application models, and executing commands. It includes built-in support for shell completions and integrates with the dotnet-suggest global tool to enable intelligent command-line suggestions across different shells.

Developers building .NET command-line tools should choose this library if they want a standardized, first-party approach to CLI argument handling rather than building custom parsing logic. It suits applications ranging from simple utilities to complex multi-command tools. The project provides comprehensive documentation through Microsoft Learn, making it accessible for teams adopting it in new or existing applications.

The project maintains a steady stream of improvements through daily builds available via the official feed, indicating active ongoing development. Contributions are welcomed through a documented contributing guide, and the project operates under a clear code of conduct aligned with the .NET Foundation standards. The library is distributed as a standard NuGet package, making integration straightforward for .NET projects.