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How to Implement argparse CLI Command in Python
Build a beginner-friendly command-line tool with argparse that accepts positional and optional arguments, flags, and prints a customizable greeting.
import argparse
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="A simple CLI tool to greet users.")
parser.add_argument("name", help="Your name")
parser.add_argument("-g", "--greeting", default="Hello", help="Greeting word (default: Hello)")
parser.add_argument("--uppercase", action="store_…How to Kill Zombie Processes Matching a Name in Python
Scans running processes with ps, finds zombies whose command name matches a pattern, and attempts to kill them with SIGKILL.
import subprocess
import re
import signal
def find_zombies(name_pattern):
"""Find PIDs of zombie processes matching the given pattern."""
result = subprocess.run(["ps", "-eo", "pid,stat,comm"], capture_output=True, text=True)
zombies = []
for line in result.stdout.splitlines()[1:]: # Skip header
…How to Mock FFmpeg subprocess Calls in Python
Compress a video with ffmpeg while mocking subprocess.run to test the command construction without executing the actual encoder.
import subprocess
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
def compress_video(input_path: str, output_path: str, crf: int = 23) -> None:
"""Compress a video using ffmpeg with a given CRF (quality) value."""
command = [
"ffmpeg",
"-i", input_path,
"-c:v", "libx264",
"-crf", str(cr…How to Mock subprocess Calls in Python with unittest.mock
A Python script that wraps Vagrant up/destroy commands using subprocess, with tests that mock the subprocess call to simulate outputs and errors.
import subprocess
from unittest.mock import patch, Mock
def run_vagrant(action: str) -> str:
result = subprocess.run(
["vagrant", action],
capture_output=True,
text=True,
check=False,
)
return result.stdout.strip()
def vagrant_wrapper(action: str) -> str:
if action n…How to Monitor USB Device Connections in Python
A Python utility that monitors USB device connections and disconnections by comparing output of the lsusb command at regular intervals.
import time
import subprocess
import os
def get_usb_devices():
"""Return list of currently connected USB devices (Linux)."""
try:
result = subprocess.run(['lsusb'], capture_output=True, text=True, check=True)
return result.stdout.strip().split('\n')
except (subprocess.CalledProcessError, F…How to Parse CLI Arguments in Python with argparse
Build a beginner-friendly CLI with argparse that accepts optional --name, --greeting, and --uppercase flags, then prints a customizable greeting.
import argparse
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Greet a user with optional customization.")
parser.add_argument("--name", default="world", help="Name to greet")
parser.add_argument("--greeting", default="Hello", help="Greeting word")
parser.add_argument("--uppercase", action=…How to Run Tesseract OCR from Python with subprocess
This script uses Python's subprocess module to invoke the Tesseract OCR engine from the command line and return the extracted text.
import subprocess
def ocr_image(image_path):
command = ["tesseract", image_path, "stdout"]
result = subprocess.run(command, capture_output=True, text=True)
return result.stdout.strip()
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Stub: call the actual tesseract (must be installed)
text = ocr_image("sample.png")
…How to Sort Command-Line Arguments in Python
Build a beginner-friendly argparse CLI that sorts numbers or words passed as arguments, with an optional reverse flag.
import argparse
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Sort numbers or words from the command line.")
parser.add_argument("items", nargs="+", help="Items to sort (numbers or words)")
parser.add_argument("--reverse", "-r", action="store_true", help="Sort in descending order")
args =…How to validate argparse CLI commands in Python
Build a beginner-friendly command-line argument parser with argparse, including required and optional arguments, plus simple validation for age.
import argparse
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Validate CLI arguments for beginners.")
parser.add_argument("name", type=str, help="Your name.")
parser.add_argument("--age", type=int, default=None, help="Your age (optional).")
parser.add_argument("--verbose", action="store_t…Mock a Helm Upgrade Install Command in Python
Use unittest mock to simulate a Helm upgrade --install call for testing automation scripts without a real cluster.
from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
class HelmClient:
def upgrade_install(self, release, chart, namespace="default"):
# Simulates the helm upgrade --install command
return f"Release {release} upgraded/installed in {namespace} using chart {chart}"
@patch("helm_client.HelmClient.upgrade_in…Get Git Status Info in Python
Run git commands from Python to gather branch name, number of changes, total commits, and clean status, returning them as a dict.
import subprocess
import json
from pathlib import Path
def get_git_status(repo_path="."):
"""Return basic git info about a repository as a dict."""
try:
branch = subprocess.check_output(
["git", "branch", "--show-current"],
cwd=repo_path,
stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,…How to Build a Git Helper Class in Python
A beginner-friendly GitHelper class that wraps common git commands (status, log, branch) into reusable Python methods with structured output.
import subprocess
import json
from pathlib import Path
class GitHelper:
def __init__(self, repo_path="."):
self.repo = Path(repo_path)
def run(self, *args):
result = subprocess.run(
["git", *args],
cwd=self.repo,
capture_output=True,
text=True,…How to Mock Git Pre-commit Hooks (black and ruff) in Python
Mock subprocess to test black and ruff pre-commit commands without actually running them, verifying exit codes.
import sys
import subprocess
from unittest.mock import patch
def run_hook(command: list[str]) -> int:
with patch("subprocess.run") as mock_run:
mock_run.return_value.returncode = 0
mock_run.return_value.stdout = f"Mocked: {' '.join(command)}"
result = subprocess.run(command, capture_output…How to Mock git sparse-checkout Paths in Python
Simulates git sparse-checkout configuration by writing desired paths to the sparse-checkout file without running git commands.
import subprocess
from pathlib import Path
import tempfile
def configure_sparse_checkout(repo_dir: Path, paths: list[str]) -> list[str]:
"""Simulate sparse checkout configuration by returning the paths that would be set."""
sparse_checkout_file = repo_dir / ".git" / "info" / "sparse-checkout"
sparse_chec…How to Mock subprocess.run in Python Tests
Mock subprocess.run to test a Git submodule update command without executing it in your test suite.
import subprocess
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
def update_submodules():
subprocess.run(["git", "submodule", "update", "--init", "--recursive"], check=True)
with patch("subprocess.run") as mock_run:
mock_run.return_value = Mock(returncode=0)
update_submodules()
mock_run.assert_called_once_wit…How to Run Git Commands from Python with subprocess
This helper runs `git status --short` and `git log --oneline` from Python, captures their output, and returns readable strings with error handling for non-repo directories.
import subprocess
def git_status():
"""Return a short, human-readable git status."""
try:
output = subprocess.run(
["git", "status", "--short"],
capture_output=True,
text=True,
check=True,
).stdout.strip()
return output if output else "W…How to sync a fork with upstream in Python
Run git fetch and merge commands from Python with subprocess to sync a forked repository with upstream/main.
import subprocess
import sys
def sync_fork_with_upstream():
"""Simulate syncing a forked repo with upstream via git commands."""
# Mock git operations: pretend to fetch from upstream and merge into main
fetch_result = subprocess.run(
["git", "fetch", "upstream"],
capture_output=True, tex…Build a Recipe Runner Mock in Python
A Python script that mocks a command runner recipe system: maps recipe names to shell commands, executes them with subprocess, and prints the output and exit code.
import subprocess
import sys
def run_recipe(recipe: str) -> None:
"""Simulate a command runner recipe by printing the command and exit code."""
print(f"Running recipe: {recipe}")
result = subprocess.run(recipe, shell=True, capture_output=True, text=True)
print(f"Exit code: {result.returncode}")
i…How to Create Interactive CLI Prompts in Python with questionary
Build mock interactive command-line prompts using questionary's select and text widgets with graceful handling of user cancellation.
import questionary
def main():
# Mock interactive prompts using questionary's select and text
choice = questionary.select(
"What is your favorite programming language?",
choices=["Python", "JavaScript", "Go", "Rust"]
).ask()
# ask() returns None if user cancels; handle gracefully
…How to Generate a Mock devcontainer.json Config in Python
Build a reproducible devcontainer.json file with Python, composing name, image, extensions, forwarded ports, and a post-create command as a dict.
import json
from pathlib import Path
def create_devcontainer_config(
image: str = "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:3.11",
name: str = "python-dev-container",
ports: list[int] | None = None,
post_create: str | None = None,
) -> dict:
config = {
"name": name,
"image": image,
…How to Mock CLI Output in Typer with unittest.mock
Mock and capture Typer CLI output using unittest.mock.patch and io.StringIO for testing command-line applications.
import typer
from unittest.mock import patch
import io
app = typer.Typer()
@app.command()
def greet(name: str, age: int = 18, uppercase: bool = False):
"""Greet a person with optional formatting."""
message = f"Hello {name}, age {age}"
if uppercase:
message = message.upper()
typer.echo(messag…How to Mock Click CLI App Subcommands in Python
Simulate Click-style CLI subcommand calls in Python by using argparse with subparsers and mocking sys.argv in tests or scripts.
import sys
import argparse
def do_greet(args):
print(f"Hello, {args.name}!")
def do_goodbye(args):
print(f"Goodbye, {args.name}!")
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(prog="clickapp")
subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(dest="command", required=True)
greet_parser = subparsers.add_par…How to Mock a pipx Install Command in Python
Simulate a pipx install step by validating tool names and printing the exact command output a real pipx run would produce.
import subprocess
import sys
def install_with_pipx(tool_name: str) -> str:
"""
Mock a pipx install step by validating the tool name and
simulating the installation command output.
"""
allowed_tools = {"black", "flake8", "mypy", "ruff"}
if tool_name not in allowed_tools:
raise ValueErr…How to Mock subprocess.run for Black Formatter in Python
Use unittest.mock to simulate subprocess.run calls in a Python function that runs the Black formatter, allowing isolated testing without executing external commands.
import subprocess
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
def run_black_formatter(file_path: str, check_only: bool = False) -> dict:
"""Run black formatter on a file via subprocess."""
cmd = ["black", "--check" if check_only else "-", file_path]
result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True)
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