Colored --help

--help is colored by default when Rich is installed and stdout is a TTY. No mixin and no CLI flags. Layout stays argparse (RecursiveHelpFormatter: subcommand list, defaults, option names). Color is applied after wrap.

from clak import Parser

class App(Parser):
    """Demo application."""

    def cli_run(self, **_):
        return None

Needs pip install 'mrjk.clak[markdown]' (Rich). Missing Rich, a non-TTY stdout, NO_COLOR, CLAK_COLORS=0, or CLAK_COLOR_BACKEND=none keep the same plain text as RecursiveHelpFormatter.

Opt out per command:

from clak import Parser, RecursiveHelpFormatter

class App(Parser):
    class Meta:
        help_formatter = RecursiveHelpFormatter

A child inherits the root formatter. After a parent opt-out, a child can re-opt-in with RichHelpMixin (left of Parser).

--help lists nested subcommands by default (Meta.help_subcommands = "all"). Nested names hide the parent path (Meta.help_hide_parent = True):

subcommands:
  tool                 Tools
    netmap             Map networks
  var                  Vars
    ls                 List vars

Set help_subcommands = "top" to list only immediate children. Set help_hide_parent = False to keep flattened paths (tool netmap). A child inherits these settings and may override. Independent of grouping. An empty positional arguments: heading (subcommands only, no NAME-style args) is omitted.

class App(Parser):
    class Meta:
        help_subcommands = "top"  # optional: immediate children only
        help_hide_parent = False  # optional: show "tool netmap" paths

Subcommand sections (Meta.command_groups + Command(..., command_group=)) are layout on that command only. Do not set Meta.help_formatter just to group children or change listing depth; those are Meta layout, not a formatter class. See Named help groups.

help_description and help_epilog accept Rich markup when color is on ([bold]Name[/bold]). Argument help= stays literal. CompositeView section title / description use the same markup helper; see Views.

API: Help component.