askit

askit is a simple and semantic Rust library to handle interactive CLI prompts, inspired by Python's input.
It provides an ergonomic and type-safe way to ask users for values, validate them, and display custom messages.

Features

• ask! macro: The simplest way to get input, panics on error. Perfect for quick scripts and demos.\
• input! macro: Safe version, returns Result<T, Error> so you can handle errors gracefully.\
• .force() helper: Lets you call .force() on an input! result to panic on error.\
• Typed input: Directly parse inputs into Rust types like i32, f64, bool, String, and more.\
• Validation: Attach custom validation logic.\
• Messages: Attach messages or hints to guide the user.\
• Defaults: Provide default values if the user presses Enter.

Installation

Add the following to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
askit = "0.1.0"

Quickstart with ask! (recommended)

use askit::ask;

fn main() {
    let name: String = ask!("Your name: ");
    let age: u8 = ask!("Age [default=18]: ", default = 18u8, retries = 2);
    println!("Hello, {name} ({age}).");
}

Usage Variations

1. ask! macro (recommended, panics on error)

use askit::ask;

fn main() {
    let port: u16 = ask!("Port (1..=65535): ", retries = 1);
    println!("Port: {port}");
}

2. input! macro (safe, returns Result)

use askit::input;

fn main() -> Result<(), askit::Error> {
    let name: String = input!("Name: ")?;
    println!("Name: {name}");
    Ok(())
}

3. .force() helper on input! (shortcut)

use askit::{input, ForceOk};

fn main() {
    let age: u8 = input!("Age: ").force();
    println!("Age: {age}");
}

Advanced Usage with prompt() Builder

use askit::prompt;

fn main() -> Result<(), askit::Error> {
    let pct: f32 = prompt("Percent: ")
        .to::<f32>()
        .default_val(50.0)
        .retries(3)
        .validate(|v| *v >= 0.0 && *v <= 100.0)
        .message("Percent must be between 0 and 100")
        .get()?;
    println!("pct = {pct}");
    Ok(())
}

Running Examples

cargo run --example quickstart

Testing

cargo test

License

MIT License.