> For optionals, `required` is set by the programmer.  But for positionals it is set with: ...
> So for '?' argument, required is False.  But for '*', it must also have a 'default' parameter (not just the default None).
> So the proposed patch is overriding the 'required' value that was set during 'add_argument'.  And issuing this error message is the main purpose of the 'required' attribute.

nargs='*' being marked as `required` is incorrect though, isn't it?

I was also very confused by this behavior, the only reason I found this bug was to search before opening new, and had a patch prepared that is nearly identical to the one here.

1. It's really helpful to know about explicitly setting `default=None|[]` depending on use case.  Would a docs PR briefly explaining at the bottom of the nargs [a] docs explaining how to change the error message via `default` be welcome?  This is a slightly challenging problem to search for.

2. My understanding is the ultimate rejection of the patch is because it's bypassing the `required` attribute.  So to fix this adequately, changing ? and * to not show up as required (when no `default` provided) should be done?


[a] https://docs.python.org/3/library/argparse.html#nargs