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gh-58247: clarify metavar behaviour in ArgumentParser.add_subparsers #148671

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gh-58247: clarify metavar behaviour in ArgumentParser.add_subparsers #148671

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clarify metavar behaviour in ArgumentParser.add_subparsers
SofieTorch Apr 17, 2026
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Merge branch 'main' into gh-58247-fix-subparsers-metavar-docs
SofieTorch Apr 17, 2026
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4 changes: 3 additions & 1 deletion Doc/library/argparse.rst
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Expand Up @@ -1750,7 +1750,9 @@ Subcommands
* help_ - help for sub-parser group in help output, by default ``None``

* metavar_ - string presenting available subcommands in help; by default it
is ``None`` and presents subcommands in form {cmd1, cmd2, ..}
is ``None`` and presents subcommands in form {cmd1, cmd2, ..} in the usage line
and next to the subparsers group heading. It does not change how the
individual subcommands are listed below that heading
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@savannahostrowski savannahostrowski Apr 20, 2026

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I'd suggest using the same format as the description for dest. Maybe something like the following will keep it more concise (argparse docs are already quite long 😅 ):

* metavar_ - placeholder shown in the usage line and in the help entry for the subparsers argument
  in place of {cmd1, cmd2, ..}; by default ``None``

This wasn't something you changed but technically speaking, metavar actually replaces the list of subcommands, it doesn't present it.


Some example usage::

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