Add support for time.Time flags #348

max-frank · 2022-03-23T11:47:35Z

This PR implements support for time.Time flags which can be used to accept timestamps as input directly (see spf13/cobra#742).

The implementation allows defining a list of acceptable timestamp formats which are tested in order, i.e., devs using this flag type would be responsible for ordering their formats correctly should there be an overlap.

kostrahb · 2022-04-27T20:02:51Z

This is exactly what I am looking for. Would it be possible to review and merge this?

Maybe also suggestion for small improvement, would it be possible to offer some reasonable standard default ordering?
Like this:

var DefaultOrdering []string = []string{time.RFC3339, time.UnixDate, ...}

or this:

func getDefaultOrdering() []string {
	return []string{time.RFC3339, time.UnixDate, ...}
}

max-frank · 2022-05-06T04:09:14Z

I was thinking of adding a constant slice with a suggested default time format set, but opted to not include it in this PR since its easy to define such a constant in whatever code you use and more importantly I wanted to avoid any long winded discussions on what the actual order and included formats should be.

AnthonyMBonafide

This looks great! Can't wait to get this out and into Cobra.

max-frank · 2022-08-21T08:33:50Z

@johnSchnake tagging you (a bit late) for this PR as requested in spf13/cobra#742

This PR implements support for `time.Time` flags which can be used to accept timestamps as input directly (see spf13/cobra#742). The implementation allows defining a list of acceptable timestamp formats which are tested in order, i.e., devs using this flag type would be responsible for ordering their formats correctly should there be an overlap. Merge spf13#348

alexferrari88 · 2023-07-19T10:57:15Z

hate being that guy...but: any news on when will this be in?

max-frank · 2023-07-19T11:07:04Z

Yeah sadly seems that the repo is just sitting here now anymore nothing happening :/

i tried to make some noise in the related issue on the cobra side but nothing yet

mmontes11 · 2023-12-18T16:05:55Z

Anything needed from the community side to cross the finish line with this PR? Happy to test, review, anything... it is a bit of a shame that the de-facto standard CLI library doesn't have a time.Time flag like it has already for time.Duration

Kapparina · 2024-08-24T07:03:43Z

Good to see this has been approved... Can it be merged?

max-frank · 2024-09-05T06:57:39Z

Good to see this has been approved... Can it be merged?

@Kapparina i wish it was this easy :(

AnthonyMBonafide

This looks good to me.

IvanRibakov · 2024-10-10T17:46:20Z

Anyone knows who needs to be chased for the approved PR to be merged in this repo? Is it only @spf13 or do more people have merge rights?

max-frank · 2025-07-11T21:57:55Z

@tomasaschan Sorry for the direct ping, but going by recent activity you seem to have the ability to review and approve PRs. Any chance you'd have some time to look at this 🙇

tomasaschan · 2025-07-12T18:49:40Z

time_test.go

+	devnull, _ := os.Open(os.DevNull)
+	os.Stderr = devnull


Why is this needed? What in this test would otherwise write to stderr?

For this one going back by memory I believe only reason I've added it was because of copy paste from the test file I modified to make it easier to stick to the repo style.

That is one of these

https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Aspf13%2Fpflag+%09os.Stderr+%3D+devnull&type=code

I've checked now and as far as I can tell non of the occurrences of this in the repo are doing anything.
Removed it for time_test.go in d15848d

Thanks for the quick response to the review request 🙇

tomasaschan · 2025-07-12T18:54:28Z

time_test.go

+	testCases := []struct {
+		input    string
+		success  bool
+		expected string


Nit: I think I'd prefer if this was a time.Time rather than a string, to make it easier to add other test cases without having to dig into how comparisons are done and what format to specify dates in. But I'm not going to block on that :)

Updated in c5ce22e

max-frank · 2025-07-13T23:58:31Z

Note during rebase to master I had to rename setUpTime to setUpTimeVar due a conflict introduced by new code

whatsacomputertho · 2025-07-14T16:17:27Z

What a coincidence, I stumbled upon this issue earlier today as I was interested in this feature

time.Time flags cobra#742

and it seems like this is nearing completion! Fantastic! Thank you Frank for staying persistent on this PR.

time.go

tomasaschan

A couple of more nits; I added suggestions for them so I can commit them with you as co-author and get this merged, I hope you don't mind :)

time.go

CLAassistant · 2025-07-16T21:37:45Z

All committers have signed the CLA.

tomasaschan · 2025-07-16T21:42:36Z

Thanks for your contribution!

max-frank · 2025-07-17T01:06:06Z

A couple of more nits; I added suggestions for them so I can commit them with you as co-author and get this merged, I hope you don't mind :)

Yeah no worries I am happy to have this modified to fit the new direction 👍

Thanks for the quick support and review after the ping 🙇

mologie · 2025-07-24T15:42:14Z

The test flag set unfortunately produces a default value for the empty time struct, without option to get rid of it:

Usage of pflagtest:
      --time time   test (default 0001-01-01T00:00:00Z)

I'd submit a follow-up PR with an IsZero() check on the value in String(), along with tests, to bring this in line with behavior of most other flags.

This was missed in spf13#348, there previously was no way to omit the default value. Treating zero timestamp values as canary for absence of a default is in line with other flag types, e.g. zero ints.

This PR contains the following updates: | Package | Change | Age | Confidence | |---|---|---|---| | [github.com/spf13/pflag](https://github.com/spf13/pflag) | `v1.0.6` -> `v1.0.7` | [![age](https://developer.mend.io/api/mc/badges/age/go/github.com%2fspf13%2fpflag/v1.0.7?slim=true)](https://docs.renovatebot.com/merge-confidence/) | [![confidence](https://developer.mend.io/api/mc/badges/confidence/go/github.com%2fspf13%2fpflag/v1.0.6/v1.0.7?slim=true)](https://docs.renovatebot.com/merge-confidence/) | --- ### Release Notes <details> <summary>spf13/pflag (github.com/spf13/pflag)</summary> ### [`v1.0.7`](https://github.com/spf13/pflag/releases/tag/v1.0.7) [Compare Source](spf13/pflag@v1.0.6...v1.0.7) #### What's Changed - Fix defaultIsZeroValue check for generic Value types by [@MidnightRocket](https://github.com/MidnightRocket) in spf13/pflag#422 - feat: Use structs for errors returned by pflag. by [@eth-p](https://github.com/eth-p) in spf13/pflag#425 - Fix typos by [@co63oc](https://github.com/co63oc) in spf13/pflag#428 - fix [#423](spf13/pflag#423) : Add helper function and some documentation to parse shorthand go test flags. by [@valdar](https://github.com/valdar) in spf13/pflag#424 - add support equivalent to golang flag.TextVar(), also fixes the test failure as described in [#368](spf13/pflag#368) by [@hujun-open](https://github.com/hujun-open) in spf13/pflag#418 - add support for Func() and BoolFunc() [#426](spf13/pflag#426) by [@LeGEC](https://github.com/LeGEC) in spf13/pflag#429 - fix: correct argument length check in FlagSet.Parse by [@ShawnJeffersonWang](https://github.com/ShawnJeffersonWang) in spf13/pflag#409 - fix usage message for func flags, fix arguments order by [@LeGEC](https://github.com/LeGEC) in spf13/pflag#431 - Add support for time.Time flags by [@max-frank](https://github.com/max-frank) in spf13/pflag#348 #### New Contributors - [@MidnightRocket](https://github.com/MidnightRocket) made their first contribution in spf13/pflag#422 - [@eth-p](https://github.com/eth-p) made their first contribution in spf13/pflag#425 - [@co63oc](https://github.com/co63oc) made their first contribution in spf13/pflag#428 - [@valdar](https://github.com/valdar) made their first contribution in spf13/pflag#424 - [@hujun-open](https://github.com/hujun-open) made their first contribution in spf13/pflag#418 - [@LeGEC](https://github.com/LeGEC) made their first contribution in spf13/pflag#429 - [@ShawnJeffersonWang](https://github.com/ShawnJeffersonWang) made their first contribution in spf13/pflag#409 - [@max-frank](https://github.com/max-frank) made their first contribution in spf13/pflag#348 **Full Changelog**: spf13/pflag@v1.0.6...v1.0.7 </details> --- ### Configuration 📅 **Schedule**: Branch creation - Between 12:00 AM and 03:59 AM ( * 0-3 * * * ) (UTC), Automerge - Between 12:00 AM and 03:59 AM ( * 0-3 * * * ) (UTC). 🚦 **Automerge**: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied. ♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever PR becomes conflicted, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox. 🔕 **Ignore**: Close this PR and you won't be reminded about this update again. --- - [ ] If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box --- This PR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).  Reviewed-on: https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo/runner/pulls/794 Reviewed-by: earl-warren <[email protected]> Co-authored-by: Renovate Bot <[email protected]> Co-committed-by: Renovate Bot <[email protected]>

This MR contains the following updates: | Package | Type | Update | Change | |---|---|---|---| | [github.com/spf13/pflag](https://github.com/spf13/pflag) | require | patch | `v1.0.6` -> `v1.0.10` | --- ### Release Notes <details> <summary>spf13/pflag (github.com/spf13/pflag)</summary> ### [`v1.0.10`](https://github.com/spf13/pflag/releases/tag/v1.0.10) [Compare Source](spf13/pflag@v1.0.9...v1.0.10) #### What's Changed - fix deprecation comment for (FlagSet.)ParseErrorsWhitelist by [@thaJeztah](https://github.com/thaJeztah) in [#447](spf13/pflag#447) - remove uses of errors.Is, which requires go1.13, move go1.16/go1.21 tests to separate file by [@thaJeztah](https://github.com/thaJeztah) in [#448](spf13/pflag#448) #### New Contributors - [@thaJeztah](https://github.com/thaJeztah) made their first contribution in [#447](spf13/pflag#447) **Full Changelog**: <spf13/pflag@v1.0.9...v1.0.10> ### [`v1.0.9`](https://github.com/spf13/pflag/releases/tag/v1.0.9) [Compare Source](spf13/pflag@v1.0.8...v1.0.9) #### What's Changed - fix: Restore ParseErrorsWhitelist name for now by [@tomasaschan](https://github.com/tomasaschan) in [#446](spf13/pflag#446) **Full Changelog**: <spf13/pflag@v1.0.8...v1.0.9> ### [`v1.0.8`](https://github.com/spf13/pflag/releases/tag/v1.0.8) [Compare Source](spf13/pflag@v1.0.7...v1.0.8) #### ⚠️ Breaking Change This version, while only a patch bump, includes a (very minor) breaking change: the `flag.ParseErrorsWhitelist` struct and corresponding `FlagSet.parseErrorsWhitelist` field have been renamed to `ParseErrorsAllowlist`. This should result in compilation errors in any code that uses these fields, which can be fixed by adjusting the names at call sites. There is no change in semantics or behavior of the struct or field referred to by these names. If your code compiles without errors after bumping to/past v1.0.8, you are not affected by this change. The breaking change was reverted in v1.0.9, by means of re-introducing the old names with deprecation warnings. The plan is still to remove them in a future release, so if your code does depend on the old names, please change them to use the new names at your earliest convenience. #### What's Changed - Remove Redundant "Unknown-Flag" Error by [@vaguecoder](https://github.com/vaguecoder) in [#364](spf13/pflag#364) - Switching from whitelist to Allowlist terminology by [@dubrie](https://github.com/dubrie) in [#261](spf13/pflag#261) - Omit zero time.Time default from usage line by [@mologie](https://github.com/mologie) in [#438](spf13/pflag#438) - implement CopyToGoFlagSet by [@pohly](https://github.com/pohly) in [#330](spf13/pflag#330) - flag: Emulate stdlib behavior and do not print ErrHelp by [@tmc](https://github.com/tmc) in [#407](spf13/pflag#407) - Print Default Values of String-to-String in Sorted Order by [@vaguecoder](https://github.com/vaguecoder) in [#365](spf13/pflag#365) - fix: Don't print ErrHelp in ParseAll by [@tomasaschan](https://github.com/tomasaschan) in [#443](spf13/pflag#443) - Reset args on re-parse even if empty by [@tomasaschan](https://github.com/tomasaschan) in [#444](spf13/pflag#444) #### New Contributors - [@vaguecoder](https://github.com/vaguecoder) made their first contribution in [#364](spf13/pflag#364) - [@dubrie](https://github.com/dubrie) made their first contribution in [#261](spf13/pflag#261) - [@mologie](https://github.com/mologie) made their first contribution in [#438](spf13/pflag#438) - [@pohly](https://github.com/pohly) made their first contribution in [#330](spf13/pflag#330) - [@tmc](https://github.com/tmc) made their first contribution in [#407](spf13/pflag#407) - [@tomasaschan](https://github.com/tomasaschan) made their first contribution in [#443](spf13/pflag#443) **Full Changelog**: <spf13/pflag@v1.0.7...v1.0.8> ### [`v1.0.7`](https://github.com/spf13/pflag/releases/tag/v1.0.7) [Compare Source](spf13/pflag@v1.0.6...v1.0.7) #### What's Changed - Fix defaultIsZeroValue check for generic Value types by [@MidnightRocket](https://github.com/MidnightRocket) in [#422](spf13/pflag#422) - feat: Use structs for errors returned by pflag. by [@eth-p](https://github.com/eth-p) in [#425](spf13/pflag#425) - Fix typos by [@co63oc](https://github.com/co63oc) in [#428](spf13/pflag#428) - fix [#423](spf13/pflag#423) : Add helper function and some documentation to parse shorthand go test flags. by [@valdar](https://github.com/valdar) in [#424](spf13/pflag#424) - add support equivalent to golang flag.TextVar(), also fixes the test failure as described in [#368](spf13/pflag#368) by [@hujun-open](https://github.com/hujun-open) in [#418](spf13/pflag#418) - add support for Func() and BoolFunc() [#426](spf13/pflag#426) by [@LeGEC](https://github.com/LeGEC) in [#429](spf13/pflag#429) - fix: correct argument length check in FlagSet.Parse by [@ShawnJeffersonWang](https://github.com/ShawnJeffersonWang) in [#409](spf13/pflag#409) - fix usage message for func flags, fix arguments order by [@LeGEC](https://github.com/LeGEC) in [#431](spf13/pflag#431) - Add support for time.Time flags by [@max-frank](https://github.com/max-frank) in [#348](spf13/pflag#348) #### New Contributors - [@MidnightRocket](https://github.com/MidnightRocket) made their first contribution in [#422](spf13/pflag#422) - [@eth-p](https://github.com/eth-p) made their first contribution in [#425](spf13/pflag#425) - [@co63oc](https://github.com/co63oc) made their first contribution in [#428](spf13/pflag#428) - [@valdar](https://github.com/valdar) made their first contribution in [#424](spf13/pflag#424) - [@hujun-open](https://github.com/hujun-open) made their first contribution in [#418](spf13/pflag#418) - [@LeGEC](https://github.com/LeGEC) made their first contribution in [#429](spf13/pflag#429) - [@ShawnJeffersonWang](https://github.com/ShawnJeffersonWang) made their first contribution in [#409](spf13/pflag#409) - [@max-frank](https://github.com/max-frank) made their first contribution in [#348](spf13/pflag#348) **Full Changelog**: <spf13/pflag@v1.0.6...v1.0.7> </details> --- - [ ] If you want to rebase/retry this MR, check this box ---    See merge request alpine/infra/build-server-status!21

AnthonyMBonafide reviewed May 6, 2022

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fredbi approved these changes Nov 21, 2022

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gssbzn mentioned this pull request Apr 28, 2023

CLOUDP-171854 Add commands atlas datalakepipelines availablesnaphosts and availableschedules mongodb/mongodb-atlas-cli#1921

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max-frank mentioned this pull request Jun 15, 2023

time.Time flags spf13/cobra#742

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tomasaschan reviewed Jul 12, 2025

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Add support for time.Time flags

1992c5a

max-frank force-pushed the add-time-flag-support branch from 7e4fa0a to 1992c5a Compare July 13, 2025 23:36

max-frank added 2 commits July 14, 2025 08:44

Use time.Time for expectations in time flag tests

c5ce22e

Remove unnecessary time test stderr dev null redirect

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max-frank requested a review from tomasaschan July 15, 2025 04:40

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tomasaschan reviewed Jul 16, 2025

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Don't export TimeValue (yet)

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tomasaschan approved these changes Jul 16, 2025

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Reduce duplication by forwarding to sibling functions

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tomasaschan force-pushed the add-time-flag-support branch from e8e90db to e3be2eb Compare July 16, 2025 21:40

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tomasaschan merged commit f9cbdd9 into spf13:master Jul 16, 2025
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renovate bot mentioned this pull request Jul 17, 2025

fix(deps): update misc non-major dependencies ido-namely/docker-protoc#33

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tomasaschan mentioned this pull request Jul 17, 2025

implement CopyToGoFlagSet #330

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mologie mentioned this pull request Jul 24, 2025

Omit zero time.Time default from usage line #438

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Add support for time.Time flags #348

Add support for time.Time flags #348

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