Augment Option to support default as flag option

Examples/default-as-flag/DefaultAsFlag.swift

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+//
+// This source file is part of the Swift Argument Parser open source project
+//
+// Copyright (c) 2025 Apple Inc. and the Swift project authors
+// Licensed under Apache License v2.0 with Runtime Library Exception
+//
+// See https://swift.org/LICENSE.txt for license information
+//
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+
+import ArgumentParser
+
+@main
+struct DefaultAsFlag: ParsableCommand {
+  static let configuration = CommandConfiguration(
+    abstract: "A utility demonstrating defaultAsFlag options.",
+    discussion: """
+      This command shows how defaultAsFlag options can work both as flags
+      and as options with values.
+      """
+  )
+
+  @Option(defaultAsFlag: "default", help: "A string option with defaultAsFlag.")
+  var stringFlag: String?
+
+  @Option(defaultAsFlag: 42, help: "An integer option with defaultAsFlag.")
+  var numberFlag: Int?
+
+  @Option(defaultAsFlag: true, help: "A boolean option with defaultAsFlag.")
+  var boolFlag: Bool?
+
+  @Option(
+    defaultAsFlag: "transformed",
+    help: "A string option with transform and defaultAsFlag.",
+    transform: { $0.uppercased() }
+  )
+  var transformFlag: String?
+
+  @Option(name: .shortAndLong, help: "A regular option for comparison.")
+  var regular: String?
+
+  @Argument
+  var additionalArgs: [String] = []
+
+  func run() {
+    print("String flag: \(stringFlag?.description ?? "nil")")
+    print("Number flag: \(numberFlag?.description ?? "nil")")
+    print("Bool flag: \(boolFlag?.description ?? "nil")")
+    print("Transform flag: \(transformFlag?.description ?? "nil")")
+    print("Regular option: \(regular?.description ?? "nil")")
+    print("Additional args: \(additionalArgs)")
+  }
+}

Package.swift

@@ -78,6 +78,11 @@ var package = Package(
       name: "color",
       dependencies: ["ArgumentParser"],
       path: "Examples/color"),
+    .executableTarget(
+      name: "default-as-flag",
+      dependencies: ["ArgumentParser"],
+      path: "Examples/default-as-flag"
+    ),
 
     // Tools
     .executableTarget(

Package@swift-5.8.swift

@@ -79,6 +79,11 @@ var package = Package(
       name: "color",
       dependencies: ["ArgumentParser"],
       path: "Examples/color"),
+    .executableTarget(
+      name: "default-as-flag",
+      dependencies: ["ArgumentParser"],
+      path: "Examples/default-as-flag"
+    ),
 
     // Tools
     .executableTarget(

README.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ that you need to collect from the command line.
 Decorate each stored property with one of `ArgumentParser`'s property wrappers,
 and then declare conformance to `ParsableCommand` and add the `@main` attribute.
 (Note, for `async` renditions of `run`, conform to `AsyncParsableCommand` rather
-than `ParsableCommand`.) 
+than `ParsableCommand`.)
 Finally, implement your command's logic in the `run()` method.
 
 ```swift
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ OPTIONS:
 
 ## Documentation
 
-For guides, articles, and API documentation see the 
+For guides, articles, and API documentation see the
 [library's documentation on the Web][docs] or in Xcode.
 
 - [ArgumentParser documentation][docs]
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ This repository includes a few examples of using the library:
 - [`roll`](Examples/roll/main.swift) is a simple utility implemented as a straight-line script.
 - [`math`](Examples/math/Math.swift) is an annotated example of using nested commands and subcommands.
 - [`count-lines`](Examples/count-lines/CountLines.swift) uses `async`/`await` code in its implementation.
+- [`default-as-flag`](Examples/default-as-flag/DefaultAsFlag.swift) demonstrates hybrid options that can work both as flags and as options with values.
 
 You can also see examples of `ArgumentParser` adoption among Swift project tools:
 
@@ -104,7 +105,7 @@ The public API of version 1.0.0 of the `swift-argument-parser` package
 consists of non-underscored declarations that are marked public in the `ArgumentParser` module.
 Interfaces that aren't part of the public API may continue to change in any release,
 including the exact wording and formatting of the autogenerated help and error messages,
-as well as the package’s examples, tests, utilities, and documentation. 
+as well as the package’s examples, tests, utilities, and documentation.
 
 Future minor versions of the package may introduce changes to these rules as needed.
 
@@ -115,7 +116,7 @@ Requiring a new Swift release will only require a minor version bump.
 
 ## Adding `ArgumentParser` as a Dependency
 
-To use the `ArgumentParser` library in a SwiftPM project, 
+To use the `ArgumentParser` library in a SwiftPM project,
 add it to the dependencies for your package and your command-line executable target:
 
 ```swift

Sources/ArgumentParser/Documentation.docc/Articles/DeclaringArguments.md

@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ struct Lucky: ParsableCommand {
 ```
 
 ```
-% lucky 
+% lucky
 Your lucky numbers are:
 7 14 21
 % lucky 1 2 3
@@ -327,6 +327,89 @@ If a default is not specified, the user must provide a value for that argument/o
 You must also always specify a default of `false` for a non-optional `Bool` flag, as in the example above. This makes the behavior consistent with both normal Swift properties (which either must be explicitly initialized or optional to initialize a `struct`/`class` containing them) and the other property types.
 
 
+### Creating hybrid flag/option behavior with defaultAsFlag
+
+The `defaultAsFlag` parameter allows you to create options that can work both as flags (without values) and as options (with values). This provides flexible command-line interfaces where users can choose between concise flag usage or explicit value specification.
+
+```swift
+struct Example: ParsableCommand {
+    @Option(defaultAsFlag: "default", help: "Set output format.")
+    var format: String?
+
+    @Option(defaultAsFlag: 8080, help: "Server port.")
+    var port: Int?
+
+    func run() {
+        print("Format: \(format ?? "none")")
+        print("Port: \(port ?? 3000)")
+    }
+}
+```
+
+**Command-line behavior:**
+```
+% example                    # format = nil, port = nil
+% example --format           # format = "default", port = nil
+% example --format json      # format = "json", port = nil
+% example --port             # format = nil, port = 8080
+% example --port 9000        # format = nil, port = 9000
+```
+
+The `defaultAsFlag` parameter creates a hybrid that supports both patterns:
+- **Flag behavior**: `--format` (sets format to "default")
+- **Option behavior**: `--format json` (sets format to "json")
+- **No usage**: format remains `nil`
+
+#### Type requirements
+
+- The property **must** be optional (`T?`)
+- The `defaultAsFlag` value must be of the unwrapped type (`T`)
+- All standard `ExpressibleByArgument` types are supported (String, Int, Bool, Double, etc.)
+
+#### Advanced usage
+
+You can combine `defaultAsFlag` with transform functions:
+
+```swift
+@Option(
+    defaultAsFlag: "info",
+    help: "Set log level.",
+    transform: { $0.uppercased() }
+)
+var logLevel: String?
+```
+
+**Behavior:**
+```
+% app --log-level        # logLevel = "INFO" (transformed default)
+% app --log-level debug  # logLevel = "DEBUG" (transformed input)
+```
+
+#### Help display
+
+DefaultAsFlag options show special help formatting to distinguish them from regular defaults:
+
+```
+OPTIONS:
+  --format [<format>]     Set output format. (default as flag: json)
+  --port [<port>]         Server port. (default as flag: 8080)
+```
+
+Note the `(default as flag: ...)` text instead of regular `(default: ...)`, and the optional value syntax `[<value>]` instead of required `<value>`.
+
+#### Value detection
+
+The parser determines whether a value follows the option:
+
+1. **Next argument is a value** if it doesn't start with `-` and isn't another known option
+2. **No value available**: Use the `defaultAsFlag` value
+3. **Explicit value provided**: Parse and use that value
+
+This works with all parsing strategies (`.next`, `.scanningForValue`, `.unconditional`), though `.unconditional` defeats the purpose by always requiring a value.
+
+For complete examples and API reference, see the [`default-as-flag`](https://github.com/apple/swift-argument-parser/tree/main/Examples/default-as-flag) example.
+
+
 ### Specifying a parsing strategy
 
 When parsing a list of command-line inputs, `ArgumentParser` distinguishes between dash-prefixed keys and un-prefixed values. When looking for the value for a key, only an un-prefixed value will be selected by default.
@@ -479,7 +562,7 @@ When appropriate, you can process supported arguments and ignore unknown ones by
 ```swift
 struct Example: ParsableCommand {
     @Flag var verbose = false
-    
+
     @Argument(parsing: .allUnrecognized)
     var unknowns: [String] = []