Hmbown/CodeWhale · error

Invalid provider ' ': expected .

Error message

Invalid provider '{provider}': expected {}.

What it means

Provider names are validated against the known ApiProvider set plus any configured custom providers. An unrecognized provider name that is not a custom provider fails with a hint listing valid names. Thrown at config.rs:5091.

Solutions

1. Correct the provider name to one from the hint (ApiProvider::names_hint()).
2. If it is meant to be a custom provider, define it under [providers.<name>] with custom_provider_config.
3. Check for typos or stale names in env/config/scripts (e.g. retired antigravity — see error 817).

Example fix

// before
provider = "googel"
// after
provider = "google"

if ApiProvider::parse(provider).is_none() && custom_providers.get(provider).is_none() {
    return Err(format!("unknown provider '{provider}'"));
}

When it happens

Trigger: `self.provider` is set, ApiProvider::parse(provider) returns None, and providers.custom_provider_config(provider) is also None — i.e. the name matches neither a built-in nor a user-defined custom provider.

Common situations: Typo like provider = "anthrpic"; referencing a custom provider before defining it under [providers]; using a provider name from another tool's vocabulary; casing/format drift after normalization changes.

Understand the failure class

Background: Invalid enum value errors: "Unknown type", "Invalid scope", "must be one of" — when a string is not on the library's allowed list — this error's family across 23 libraries.

Related errors

• custom provider ' ' must set [providers. ].kind =…
• Invalid default_text_model
• .context_window must be greater than 0
• .model_context_windows. must be greater than 0
• unknown field ' ' for built-in provider ' ': expected one…

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@73e0f67d83 (2026-09-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/05026a7d166ed793. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/tui/src/config.rs:5091

            self.custom_models.as_deref().unwrap_or_default(),
        )?;
        self.openrouter_vendor()?;
        if self
            .provider
            .as_deref()
            .is_some_and(is_legacy_antigravity_identity)
        {
            anyhow::bail!(codewhale_config::LEGACY_ANTIGRAVITY_TOMBSTONE_MESSAGE);
        }
        if let Some(provider) = self.provider.as_deref()
            && ApiProvider::parse(provider).is_none()
            && self
                .providers
                .as_ref()
                .and_then(|providers| providers.custom_provider_config(provider))
                .is_none()
        {
            anyhow::bail!(
                "Invalid provider '{provider}': expected {}.",
                ApiProvider::names_hint()
            );
        }
        let active_provider = self.api_provider();
        match validate_kimi_code_api_model_id(
            active_provider,
            &self.active_route_base_url(),
            &self.default_model(),
        ) {
            Err(error) if error == KIMI_CODE_CLAUDE_ALIAS_GUIDANCE => {
                return Err(SafeConfigDiagnostic::KimiCodeClaudeAlias.into());
            }
            result => result.map_err(anyhow::Error::msg)?,
        }
        if let Some(ref key) = self.api_key
            && key.trim().is_empty()
        {

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