[BugFix] CLI parser splits comma-separated flag values into separate args (#7420)

* fix: preserve comma-separated values for flagged CLI arguments

The CLI argument parser was splitting all comma-separated values into
separate positional args before argparse could process them. This caused
multi-symbol queries like --symbol AAPL,MSFT,GOOGL to fail with
'args couldn't be interpreted' for all symbols after the first.

Flag values are now identified by checking whether the preceding token
is a known option string with nargs != 0, and their commas are preserved
so the provider receives the original comma-separated string.

* test: add coverage for comma-split fix in parse_known_args_and_warn

---------

Co-authored-by: Danglewood <85772166+deeleeramone@users.noreply.github.com>

cli/openbb_cli/controllers/base_controller.py

@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ class BaseController(metaclass=ABCMeta):
         # Single command fed, process
         else:
             try:
-                (known_args, other_args) = self.parser.parse_known_args(
+                known_args, other_args = self.parser.parse_known_args(
                     shlex.split(an_input)
                 )
             except Exception as exc:
@@ -622,7 +622,7 @@ class BaseController(metaclass=ABCMeta):
             system_clear()
 
         try:
-            (ns_parser, l_unknown_args) = parser.parse_known_args(other_args)
+            ns_parser, l_unknown_args = parser.parse_known_args(other_args)
         except SystemExit:
             # In case the command has required argument that isn't specified
             session.console.print("\n")
@@ -768,11 +768,45 @@ class BaseController(metaclass=ABCMeta):
                 ),
                 -1,
             )
-            # Split comma-separated arguments, except for the argument at routine_args_index
+            # Collect indices whose values should NOT be comma-split because
+            # the provider may accept a comma-separated string (e.g. --symbol
+            # AAPL,MSFT).  Handles --flag value, --flag=value, -f value, and
+            # multi-value flags (nargs="+" / nargs="*" / nargs=N).
+            no_split_indices: set[int] = set()
+            if 0 <= routine_args_index < len(other_args):
+                no_split_indices.add(routine_args_index)
+
+            for i, arg in enumerate(other_args):
+                if not arg.startswith("-"):
+                    continue
+                # Handle --flag=value by extracting the flag portion.
+                flag_part = arg.split("=", 1)[0] if "=" in arg else arg
+                for action in parser._actions:  # pylint: disable=protected-access
+                    if flag_part in action.option_strings and action.nargs != 0:
+                        if "=" in arg:
+                            # Value is embedded in the same token.
+                            no_split_indices.add(i)
+                        elif action.nargs in ("+", "*") or (
+                            isinstance(action.nargs, int) and action.nargs > 1
+                        ):
+                            # Multi-value flag: protect all consecutive
+                            # non-flag tokens after the flag.
+                            j = i + 1
+                            while j < len(other_args) and not other_args[j].startswith(
+                                "-"
+                            ):
+                                no_split_indices.add(j)
+                                j += 1
+                        # Single-value flag: protect the next token.
+                        elif i + 1 < len(other_args):
+                            no_split_indices.add(i + 1)
+                        break
+
+            # Split comma-separated arguments only for positional / unflagged values.
             other_args = [
                 part
                 for index, arg in enumerate(other_args)
-                for part in (arg.split(",") if index != routine_args_index else [arg])
+                for part in ([arg] if index in no_split_indices else arg.split(","))
             ]
 
             # Check if the action has optional choices, if yes, remove them
@@ -780,7 +814,7 @@ class BaseController(metaclass=ABCMeta):
                 if getattr(action, "optional_choices", None):
                     action.choices = None
 
-            (ns_parser, l_unknown_args) = parser.parse_known_args(other_args)
+            ns_parser, l_unknown_args = parser.parse_known_args(other_args)
 
             if export_allowed in [
                 "raw_data_only",

cli/tests/test_controllers_base_controller.py

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """Test the base controller."""
 
+import argparse
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 import pytest
@@ -77,3 +78,114 @@ def test_call_exit():
     with patch.object(controller, "save_class", MagicMock()):
         controller.queue = ["quit"]
         controller.call_exit(None)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def mock_base_session():
+    """Mock the session for parse_known_args_and_warn tests."""
+    with patch("openbb_cli.controllers.base_controller.session") as mock_session:
+        mock_session.settings.USE_CLEAR_AFTER_CMD = False
+        yield mock_session
+
+
+def _make_parser(*args_spec):
+    """Create an argparse parser from a list of add_argument kwargs."""
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(add_help=False)
+    for spec in args_spec:
+        flags = spec.pop("flags")
+        parser.add_argument(*flags, **spec)
+    return parser
+
+
+def test_comma_split_flagged_value_not_split(mock_base_session):
+    """Simple test: --symbol AAPL,MSFT must stay as one value."""
+    parser = _make_parser({"flags": ["--symbol", "-s"], "dest": "symbol", "type": str})
+    result = BaseController.parse_known_args_and_warn(parser, ["--symbol", "AAPL,MSFT"])
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.symbol == "AAPL,MSFT"
+
+
+def test_comma_split_short_flag_not_split(mock_base_session):
+    """Short flag -s AAPL,MSFT must also stay as one value."""
+    parser = _make_parser({"flags": ["--symbol", "-s"], "dest": "symbol", "type": str})
+    result = BaseController.parse_known_args_and_warn(parser, ["-s", "AAPL,MSFT"])
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.symbol == "AAPL,MSFT"
+
+
+def test_comma_split_equals_syntax_not_split(mock_base_session):
+    """--symbol=AAPL,MSFT must not be split."""
+    parser = _make_parser({"flags": ["--symbol", "-s"], "dest": "symbol", "type": str})
+    result = BaseController.parse_known_args_and_warn(parser, ["--symbol=AAPL,MSFT"])
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.symbol == "AAPL,MSFT"
+
+
+def test_comma_split_nargs_plus_all_values_protected(mock_base_session):
+    """nargs='+': all consecutive values after --symbols are protected."""
+    parser = _make_parser(
+        {"flags": ["--symbols"], "dest": "symbols", "nargs": "+", "type": str}
+    )
+    result = BaseController.parse_known_args_and_warn(
+        parser, ["--symbols", "AAPL,MSFT", "GOOG,AMZN"]
+    )
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.symbols == ["AAPL,MSFT", "GOOG,AMZN"]
+
+
+def test_comma_split_nargs_star_values_protected(mock_base_session):
+    """nargs='*': consecutive values after --tags are protected."""
+    parser = _make_parser(
+        {"flags": ["--tags"], "dest": "tags", "nargs": "*", "type": str}
+    )
+    result = BaseController.parse_known_args_and_warn(parser, ["--tags", "a,b", "c,d"])
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.tags == ["a,b", "c,d"]
+
+
+def test_comma_split_nargs_int_values_protected(mock_base_session):
+    """nargs=2: both values after --pair are protected."""
+    parser = _make_parser(
+        {"flags": ["--pair"], "dest": "pair", "nargs": 2, "type": str}
+    )
+    result = BaseController.parse_known_args_and_warn(parser, ["--pair", "a,b", "c,d"])
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.pair == ["a,b", "c,d"]
+
+
+def test_comma_split_store_true_not_confused(mock_base_session):
+    """store_true flags (nargs=0) should not protect the next token."""
+    parser = _make_parser(
+        {"flags": ["--symbol", "-s"], "dest": "symbol", "type": str},
+        {"flags": ["--raw"], "dest": "raw", "action": "store_true", "default": False},
+    )
+    result = BaseController.parse_known_args_and_warn(
+        parser, ["--raw", "--symbol", "AAPL,MSFT"]
+    )
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.raw is True
+    assert result.symbol == "AAPL,MSFT"
+
+
+def test_comma_split_no_comma_values_unchanged(mock_base_session):
+    """Values without commas pass through unaffected."""
+    parser = _make_parser({"flags": ["--symbol", "-s"], "dest": "symbol", "type": str})
+    result = BaseController.parse_known_args_and_warn(parser, ["--symbol", "AAPL"])
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.symbol == "AAPL"
+
+
+def test_comma_split_multiple_flags_each_protected(mock_base_session):
+    """Multiple flags each protect their own values independently."""
+    parser = _make_parser(
+        {"flags": ["--symbol", "-s"], "dest": "symbol", "type": str},
+        {"flags": ["--raw"], "dest": "raw", "action": "store_true", "default": False},
+        {"flags": ["--provider"], "dest": "provider", "type": str},
+    )
+    result = BaseController.parse_known_args_and_warn(
+        parser,
+        ["--symbol", "AAPL,MSFT", "--provider", "yfinance,polygon"],
+    )
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.symbol == "AAPL,MSFT"
+    assert result.provider == "yfinance,polygon"