CefCommandLine

Header: cef_command_line.h
Category: Core APIs

Overview

Foundational interfaces: process bootstrap, browser lifecycle, frames, DOM, requests, and data objects.

CefCommandLine

Source File: include/cef_command_line.h

Process / Thread Context: Not specified at the class level. The header explicitly notes: "This class can be used before CefInitialize() is called." Static factories CreateCommandLine / GetGlobalCommandLine are callable any time.

Purpose: "Class used to create and/or parse command line arguments." Models Chromium's command-line semantics: switches (prefixed with --, -, or / on Windows) precede non-switch arguments; -- terminates switch parsing; switch names are lowercased ASCII; switch values are UTF-8 with original case. Provides read-only inspection (GetGlobalCommandLine) and writable copies (Copy).

Methods

static CefRefPtr<CefCommandLine> CreateCommandLine()

Parameters:

• none.

Return Value: A new, empty CefCommandLine.

Usage Instruction: Create a writable instance. Initialize it via InitFromArgv / InitFromString.

Threading Constraint: Callable any time, including before CefInitialize.

static CefRefPtr<CefCommandLine> GetGlobalCommandLine()

Parameters:

• none.

Return Value: The singleton global command line. "The returned object will be read-only."

Usage Instruction: Inspect the current process's actual command line. Call IsReadOnly() / Copy() if mutation is needed.

Threading Constraint: Callable any time.

virtual bool IsValid() = 0

Return Value: "Returns true if this object is valid. Do not call any other methods if this function returns false."

Usage Instruction: Defensive check before any other call.

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual bool IsReadOnly() = 0

Return Value: "Returns true if the values of this object are read-only. Some APIs may expose read-only objects."

Usage Instruction: Check before attempting to mutate; if read-only, call Copy() first.

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual CefRefPtr<CefCommandLine> Copy() = 0

Return Value: "Returns a writable copy of this object."

Usage Instruction: Clone a read-only global object for mutation.

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void InitFromArgv(int argc, const char* const* argv) = 0

Parameters:

• argc: Argument count.
• argv: Argument vector. "The first argument must be the name of the program."

Return Value: void.

Usage Instruction: "This method is only supported on non-Windows platforms."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void InitFromString(const CefString& command_line) = 0

Parameters:

• command_line: "The string returned by calling GetCommandLineW()."

Return Value: void.

Usage Instruction: "This method is only supported on Windows."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void Reset() = 0

Return Value: void.

Usage Instruction: "Reset the command-line switches and arguments but leave the program component unchanged."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void GetArgv(std::vector<CefString>& argv) = 0

Parameters:

• argv: Out vector populated with the original argv-style sequence: { program, [(--|-|/)switch[=value]]*, [--], [argument]* }.

Return Value: void.

Usage Instruction: Reconstruct the original token sequence.

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual CefString GetCommandLineString() = 0

Return Value: The reconstructed command-line string.

Usage Instruction: "Use this method cautiously because quoting behavior is unclear."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual CefString GetProgram() = 0

Return Value: "Get the program part of the command line string (the first item)."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void SetProgram(const CefString& program) = 0

Parameters:

• program: New program name.

Return Value: void.

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual bool HasSwitches() = 0

Return Value: "Returns true if the command line has switches."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual bool HasSwitch(const CefString& name) = 0

Parameters:

• name: Switch name to query (case-insensitive; will be lowercased).

Return Value: "Returns true if the command line contains the given switch."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual CefString GetSwitchValue(const CefString& name) = 0

Return Value: "Returns the value associated with the given switch. If the switch has no value or isn't present this method returns the empty string."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void GetSwitches(SwitchMap& switches) = 0

Parameters:

• switches: Out SwitchMap populated with all switches. "If a switch has no value an empty string is returned."

Return Value: void.

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void AppendSwitch(const CefString& name) = 0

Return Value: void.

Usage Instruction: "Add a switch to the end of the command line."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void AppendSwitchWithValue(const CefString& name, const CefString& value) = 0

Parameters:

• name: Switch name.
• value: Switch value. "If the switch has no value pass an empty value string."

Return Value: void.

Usage Instruction: "Remove a switch from the command line. If no such switch is present, this has no effect."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header. #if CEF_API_ADDED(14100).

virtual bool HasArguments() = 0

Return Value: "True if there are remaining command line arguments."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void GetArguments(ArgumentList& arguments) = 0

Parameters:

• arguments: Out ArgumentList populated with non-switch arguments.

Return Value: void.

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void AppendArgument(const CefString& argument) = 0

Return Value: void.

Usage Instruction: "Add an argument to the end of the command line."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

virtual void PrependWrapper(const CefString& wrapper) = 0

Return Value: void.

Usage Instruction: "Insert a command before the current command. Common for debuggers, like 'valgrind' or 'gdb --args'."

Threading Constraint: Not specified in header.

Usage Example

// Inside CefApp::OnBeforeCommandLineProcessing:
void MyApp::OnBeforeCommandLineProcessing(
    const CefString& process_type,
    CefRefPtr<CefCommandLine> command_line) {
  if (process_type.empty()) {  // browser process
    command_line->AppendSwitch("disable-extensions");
    command_line->AppendSwitchWithValue("remote-debugging-port", "9222");
  } else if (process_type == "renderer") {
    command_line->AppendSwitch("enable-experimental-web-platform-features");
  }
}

// Reading the global command line from anywhere:
CefRefPtr<CefCommandLine> cl = CefCommandLine::GetGlobalCommandLine();
if (cl->HasSwitch("my-flag")) {
  CefString val = cl->GetSwitchValue("my-flag");
  // ...
}