What causes "{flag} must be placed before `exec`. Use: codewhale {flag} exec " "" in Hmbown/CodeWhale?

Move the flag before `exec`: `codewhale --model exec " "`

must be placed before `exec`. Use: codewhale exec

Error message

{flag} must be placed before `exec`.

Use:
  codewhale {flag} <value> exec "<prompt>"

What it means

Codewhale's exec subcommand validates that global-only flags (like --model, --provider) are not passed after the `exec` keyword. Args are scanned up to `--` and any recognized global flag placed in the exec position causes a bail with usage guidance. This keeps argument parsing unambiguous between the global CLI layer and the exec subcommand.

Solutions

Move the flag before `exec`: `codewhale --model <value> exec "<prompt>"`
If the value must stay inline, place `--` before it or remove the flag if a subcommand equivalent exists

Example fix

// before
codewhale exec "refactor this" --model gpt-5
// after
codewhale --model gpt-5 exec "refactor this"

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const GLOBAL_ONLY = ['--model', '--provider'];
const i = argv.indexOf('exec');
if (i !== -1 && argv.slice(0, i).some(a => GLOBAL_ONLY.includes(a.split('=')[0]) === false)) throw new Error('move global flags before exec');

Prevention

Always order CLI args as `codewhale <global flags> exec "<prompt>"`
Wrap complex invocations in shell functions with flags fixed in the global position

When it happens

Trigger: Running `codewhale exec "<prompt>" --model <value>` (or any flag in GLOBAL_ONLY_FLAGS) after `exec`, before any `--` separator.

Common situations: Users copying global invocations from docs/examples and appending exec at the end; scripts built by reordering an existing working command; muscle memory from other CLIs that accept subcommand-level model overrides.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Unknown argument", "Invalid value", and "must be one of": invalid CLI argument errors explained — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@73e0f67d83 (2026-09-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/deb57f124ba54232. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/cli/src/lib.rs:2516

    forwarded.push(command.to_string());
    forwarded.extend(args.args);
    forwarded
}

fn setup_is_status_report(args: &TuiPassthroughArgs) -> bool {
    args.args.iter().any(|arg| arg == "--status")
}

fn reject_exec_global_flags(args: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
    const GLOBAL_ONLY_FLAGS: &[&str] = &["--provider", "--model", "--api-key", "--base-url"];

    for arg in args {
        if arg == "--" {
            break;
        }
        let flag = arg.split_once('=').map_or(arg.as_str(), |(flag, _)| flag);
        if GLOBAL_ONLY_FLAGS.contains(&flag) {
            bail!(
                "{flag} must be placed before `exec`.\n\nUse:\n  codewhale {flag} <value> exec \"<prompt>\""
            );
        }
    }

    Ok(())
}

/// `codewhale login` used to configure provider API keys; that surface moved
/// to `auth set --provider`. The hidden legacy flags stay parseable so the
/// redirect below can name the replacement instead of an unknown-flag error.
fn reject_legacy_login_provider_args(args: &LoginArgs) -> Result<()> {
    if args.api_key.is_none() && args.provider.is_none() {
        return Ok(());
    }
    bail!(
        "`codewhale login` now signs in to your Codewhale account via the browser device flow. \
         To configure a provider key, run `codewhale auth set --provider <provider>` (hidden prompt) \

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