affaan-m/ECC · error · Error

An executable is required after --.

Error message

An executable is required after --.

What it means

Unless --help or --detect is requested, parseArgs requires an executable after --. If no executable is supplied (no -- token, or a -- with nothing after it), this throws at line 142. --help and --detect are the only modes that do not need an executable.

Source

Thrown at skills/terminal-opener/scripts/open-terminal.js:143

      dryRunRequested = true;
      options.dryRun = true;
    } else if (argument === '--json') {
      options.json = true;
    } else if (argument === '--help' || argument === '-h') {
      options.help = true;
    } else {
      throw new Error(`Unknown option "${argument}"; put the executable after --.`);
    }
  }

  if (launchRequested && dryRunRequested) {
    throw new Error('--launch and --dry-run are mutually exclusive.');
  }

  validateTerminalName(options.terminal);
  validateCwd(options.cwd);
  if (!options.help && !options.detect && !options.executable) {
    throw new Error('An executable is required after --.');
  }
  if (options.executable) validateExecutable(options.executable);
  validateArgv(options.argv);
  return options;
}

function unsupportedPlan(options) {
  return {
    ok: false,
    reason: 'unsupported-terminal',
    action: `Terminal "${options.terminal}" is not supported. Install WezTerm, then rerun with --terminal wezterm.`,
    terminal: options.terminal,
    executable: options.executable,
    argv: [...options.argv],
    cwd: options.cwd,
    dryRun: options.dryRun,
    launchMode: options.mode === 'recover' ? 'recover' : 'mux',
    command: null,

View on GitHub (pinned to 01e15490f0)

Solutions

1. Add '-- <executable> [args...]' to the command line.
2. If you only wanted to probe or see help, pass --detect or --help instead.

Example fix

# before
node open-terminal.js --terminal wezterm

# after
node open-terminal.js --terminal wezterm -- echo hi

const hasExecutable = argv.includes('--') && argv[argv.indexOf('--') + 1] !== undefined;
const isProbeOrHelp = argv.includes('--detect') || argv.includes('--help') || argv.includes('-h');
if (!hasExecutable && !isProbeOrHelp) {
  throw new Error('An executable is required after -- (or use --detect/--help)');
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running with only flags and no executable, or a trailing -- with nothing after it, while not using --help or --detect.

Common situations: Forgetting the executable; intending to run --detect but omitting it; a wrapper that strips the executable token.

Related errors

• Invalid terminal name; use a simple adapter name such as wez
• Missing value for ${option}.
• Unknown option "${argument}"; put the executable after --.
• --launch and --dry-run are mutually exclusive.
• Multiple ECC repo roots detected: ${uniqueRepoRoots.join(',

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@01e15490f0 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e76d746009d383a7. Report an issue: GitHub.