[v2] Add --help parameter for all CLI commands - #10630
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Resolve help intent before argument binding so --help renders the same help as the positional help subcommand on every command surface (provider, service, operation, custom/nested commands). New argparser helpers detect and strip the exact --help token; each of the four dispatch layers routes to its existing create_help_command(). --help mirrors the positional help token's position semantics, and is added to _NO_AUTO_PROMPT_ARGS so a help request bypasses auto-prompt. The positional help subcommand is unchanged.
Functional coverage of --help on every surface, including value and optional-value options before --help, and --help appearing before a command or operation token (help resolves at the depth reached, later tokens ignored). Unit coverage for the argparser helpers: - only the exact --help token counts as help - an option's value is not mistaken for a command when routing to top-level help - parsing the tokens before --help still lets --version and Ctrl-C through - descending into a subcommand is decided by parsing rather than string position Updates the structured-error fixture for the extended HELP_BLURB.
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September 10, 2026 21:14
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Issue #, if available:
helpcommand conventions (-h/--helporaws help <command/service>#303Description of changes:
Adds a
--helpparameter that renders the same help as the existinghelpsubcommand, on every command: the top-levelaws, a service (aws ec2 --help), an operation (aws ec2 describe-instances --help), and custom/nested commands (aws configure get --help). Thehelpsubcommand is unchanged.Implementation
Help intent is resolved before normal argument binding.
awscli/argparser.pydetect and strip the exact--helptoken (is_help_option_present,strip_help_options,first_help_option_index).CLIDriver.main,ServiceCommand,ServiceOperation,BasicCommand) routes to its existingcreate_help_command()with--helpstripped. Detecting it up front means a preceding value option cannot consume it.--helpis added to_NO_AUTO_PROMPT_ARGSso a help request bypasses auto-prompt.Behavior
helpsubcommand. Help resolves at the depth reached when--helpappears, and tokens (sub-commands or parameters) after it are ignored, soaws ec2 --help describe-instancesrenders EC2 service help. This is the same asaws ec2 help describe-instances.--helpis help.--hel,--he, and--help=xare not; they fall through as unknown options. This avoids colliding with operation parameters with a shared prefix, like--health-check-type.aws --region ec2 --helprenders top-level help, becauseec2is--region's value.Known limitation
--helpis deliberately absent from the generated global-options synopsis and reference pages. Those are generated fromcli.jsonand pinned bytests/functional/test_globals.py;--helpis intentionally not acli.jsonoption, since that would re-enable prefix matching so--helresolves again. Users find--helpthrough the error text shown on a bad invocation and each command's own help output.Testing
--helpon every command type, including value and optional-value options before--help, and--helpbefore a command/operation token.argparserhelpers, exact-token-only detection, value-aware routing, the pre-help-slice parse, and subcommand-vs-help positioning.By submitting this pull request, I confirm that you can use, modify, copy, and redistribute this contribution, under the terms of your choice.