Custom Interactive Shell with AutoComplete

Question

I have been tasked to create an interactive shell to be embedded in python, such that, when called from the command line it will be dropped into that shell. Can anyone recommend me a library that does this?

I would need the ability to create custom words, "actions," so when the user types those words, my program can execute the correct function that I have created. I would also like the ability of auto complete / tab complete on the custom words I created.

Example:

$ python myapplication.py
$ myapp> 
$ myapp> help
   ... prints the help menu
$ myapp> run service blah
   .. service blah runs ...
$ myapp> exit
$ 

Answer 1

Try this cmd module. It's designed for that purpose.

Answer 2

Python Prompt toolkit is a very good module to use when you want to make a fully featured interactive shell. It comes with all the needed features like :

• Auto-complete (with visual dropdowns)
• Command history and search
• Works cross-platform