Hmbown/CodeWhale · error · Error

unknown argument: ${arg}

Error message

unknown argument: ${arg}

What it means

compare-deployed-facts.mjs parseArgs recognizes exactly --require-current (boolean), --base-url <url>, --expected-revision <sha>, --attempts <n>, and --retry-delay-ms <ms>; anything else throws `unknown argument: ${arg}`. Note --attempts defaults to 6 when --require-current is set, otherwise 1.

Source

Thrown at web/scripts/compare-deployed-facts.mjs:32

    expectedRevision: process.env.CODEWHALE_SOURCE_REVISION || process.env.GITHUB_SHA || null,
    requireCurrent: false,
    attempts: null,
    retryDelayMs: 3_000,
  };
  for (let index = 0; index < argv.length; index += 1) {
    const arg = argv[index];
    if (arg === "--require-current") {
      out.requireCurrent = true;
    } else if (arg === "--base-url") {
      out.baseUrl = argv[++index];
    } else if (arg === "--expected-revision") {
      out.expectedRevision = argv[++index];
    } else if (arg === "--attempts") {
      out.attempts = Number(argv[++index]);
    } else if (arg === "--retry-delay-ms") {
      out.retryDelayMs = Number(argv[++index]);
    } else {
      throw new Error(`unknown argument: ${arg}`);
    }
  }
  out.attempts ??= out.requireCurrent ? 6 : 1;
  return out;
}

function localRevision() {
  try {
    return execFileSync("git", ["rev-parse", "HEAD"], {
      cwd: REPO_ROOT,
      encoding: "utf8",
      stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "ignore"],
    }).trim();
  } catch {
    return null;
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 8880682c63)

Solutions

1. Rerun with only the five documented flags, spelled exactly as parsed
2. Ensure every value flag (--base-url, --expected-revision, --attempts, --retry-delay-ms) is followed by its value — the parser does not validate missing values itself
3. When adding a flag, extend the else-if chain and keep the final else throw intact

Example fix

# before
node scripts/compare-deployed-facts.mjs --baseurl https://example.com
# after
node scripts/compare-deployed-facts.mjs --base-url https://example.com

const VALUE_FLAGS = new Set(['--base-url', '--expected-revision', '--attempts', '--retry-delay-ms']);
const argv = process.argv.slice(2);
for (let i = 0; i < argv.length; i += 1) {
  const a = argv[i];
  if (VALUE_FLAGS.has(a)) { i += 1; continue; }
  if (a !== '--require-current') {
    console.error(`unknown argument: ${a} — see script header for usage`);
    process.exit(2);
  }
}

try {
  parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
} catch (error) {
  if (/^unknown argument:/.test(error.message)) { process.exit(2); }
  throw error;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing unsupported or misspelled flags (--baseurl, --verbose), stray positionals, or a value flag whose missing value makes the next token be parsed as a flag and rejected.

Common situations: Adapting an ad-hoc curl check into this script; flags copied from another web/scripts tool; wrapper scripts appending extra arguments.

Related errors

• unknown argument: ${arg}
• unknown argument: ${arg}
• --days must be an integer from 1 through 90
• invalid --base-url: ${args.baseUrl}
• --base-url must use http or https

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@8880682c63 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ddc18233f6effab8. Report an issue: GitHub.