Optionally override an variable boolean default with plac

override_bool_default.py

import distutils.util
import plac


VIEW_DEFAULT = False


@plac.opt(
    "view",
    help="show something",
    type=str,
    choices=["True", "False", "true", "false"]
)
def main(view=VIEW_DEFAULT):
    """a simple application
    
    if the user provides the `view` argument, its value will override the default,
    which might itself be configured in some kind of config file
    
    """
    print(f"VIEW_DEFAULT: {VIEW_DEFAULT}")
    if isinstance(view, str):
        view = bool(distutils.util.strtobool(view))
    print(f"view: {view}")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    plac.call(main)