browsh-org/browsh

Improve command line interface error feedback

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#196 opened on Sep 6, 2018

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 (4 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)JavaScript (15,996 stars) (455 forks)batch import
bugenhancementhelp wanted

Description

This issue could be solved by a junior Browsh developer. I hope it will encourage someone to get involved.

Currently when you simply start the Browsh binary without command line arguments, you get something like this:

./browsh_1.4.12_linux_amd64 exit status 1

The user doesn't know for what reason an error occurred.

Possible ways to improve this are to:

  • display the usage/help output, like --help
  • and/or to display an error message such as "Firefox binary not found and no path given. Use --firefox.path"

Contributor guide

Tech stack
go
Domain
cli
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
under 1 hour
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Go programming languageCLI development basics
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
85
Research direction
Examine the Browsh CLI entry point in the main.go file. The issue is to improve the error feedback when the binary is run without arguments. Currently, exit status 1 is returned without explanation. Implement either a usage/help output similar to help or an error message indicating missing Firefox path. Ensure the change is localized and does not affect other functionalities. Check existing comments in the issue for any additional context.