Python argparse command line flags without arguments

Solution 1:

As you have it, the argument w is expecting a value after -w on the command line. If you are just looking to flip a switch by setting a variable True or False, have a look here (specifically store_true and store_false)

import argparse

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('-w', action='store_true')

where action='store_true' implies default=False.

Conversely, you could haveaction='store_false', which implies default=True.

Solution 2:

Adding a quick snippet to have it ready to execute:

Source: myparser.py

import argparse
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Flip a switch by setting a flag")
parser.add_argument('-w', action='store_true')

args = parser.parse_args()
print args.w

Usage:

python myparser.py -w
>> True