argparse incorrectly shows help string on a new line in case of long command string

[DiPaolo]

BPO	42875
Nosy	@rhettinger, @DiPaolo
PRs	bpo-42875: fix incorrect indent of long sub-commands #24177
Files	argparse-indent-sample.py

^{Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.}

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GitHub fields:

assignee = None
closed_at = None
created_at = <Date 2021-01-09.14:34:59.534>
labels = ['3.8', 'type-bug', 'library', '3.9', '3.10']
title = 'argparse incorrectly shows help string on a new line in case of long command string'
updated_at = <Date 2021-01-22.19:25:32.221>
user = 'https://github.com/DiPaolo'

bugs.python.org fields:

activity = <Date 2021-01-22.19:25:32.221>
actor = 'paul.j3'
assignee = 'none'
closed = False
closed_date = None
closer = None
components = ['Library (Lib)']
creation = <Date 2021-01-09.14:34:59.534>
creator = 'DiPaolo'
dependencies = []
files = ['49730']
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 42875
keywords = ['patch']
message_count = 2.0
messages = ['384728', '385508']
nosy_count = 3.0
nosy_names = ['rhettinger', 'paul.j3', 'DiPaolo']
pr_nums = ['24177']
priority = 'normal'
resolution = None
stage = 'patch review'
status = 'open'
superseder = None
type = 'behavior'
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue42875'
versions = ['Python 3.8', 'Python 3.9', 'Python 3.10']

Linked PRs

• GH-87041: Fix incorrect indentation in argparse help #124230
• [3.13] GH-87041: Fix incorrect indentation in argparse help (GH-124230) #124373
• [3.12] GH-87041: Fix incorrect indentation in argparse help (GH-124230) #124374

[DiPaolo]

Steps to reproduce.

Run the attached script:

$ python3 argparse-indent-sample.py --help

The output is:

usage: argparse-indent-sample.py [-h] CMD ...

optional arguments:
  -h, --help           show this help message and exit

service:
  CMD                  command to use
    add                add something
    remove             remove something
    a-very-long-command
                       command that does something

Expected output is:

usage: argparse-indent-sample.py [-h] CMD ...

optional arguments:
  -h, --help           show this help message and exit

service:
  CMD                    command to use
    add                  add something
    remove               remove something
    a-very-long-command  command that does something

[paulj3]

This issue is discussed in:

https://bugs.python.org/issue34724
argparse subparser help indent too short

and

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32888815/max-help-position-is-not-works-in-python-argparse-library