Python argparse command line flags without arguments

As you have it, the argument w is expecting a value after -w on the command line. If you are just looking to flip a switch by setting a variable True or False, have a look here (specifically store_true and store_false)

import argparse

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('-w', action='store_true')

where action='store_true' implies default=False.

Conversely, you could haveaction='store_false', which implies default=True.