affaan-m/ECC · error · Error

At least one --target is required for handoffs.

Error message

At least one --target is required for handoffs.

What it means

Thrown by runWriteCommand in scripts/memory.js when the `handoff` subcommand is called with no `--target` values. Handoffs are addressed to one or more target harnesses, so an empty target list is rejected before writing. This is checked after the `--from` guard, so a handoff missing both flags fails on `--from` first.

Source

Thrown at scripts/memory.js:419

  }
}

function runInitCommand({ command, options, positionals, roots }) {
  requireNoPositionals(positionals, command);
  return printInit(
    initializeVault({ roots, scopes: options.scopes || undefined }),
    options.json
  );
}

function runWriteCommand({ command, options, positionals, roots }) {
  requireNoPositionals(positionals, command);
  if (!options.title) throw new Error('--title is required.');
  if (command === 'handoff' && !options.from) {
    throw new Error('--from is required for handoffs.');
  }
  if (command === 'handoff' && (!options.targets || options.targets.length === 0)) {
    throw new Error('At least one --target is required for handoffs.');
  }
  return printWrite(
    saveMemory(saveInput(options, command === 'handoff' ? 'handoff' : null), { roots }),
    options.json
  );
}

function runSearchCommand({ options, positionals, roots }) {
  const query = positionals.join(' ');
  return printSearch(query, searchMemories(query, {
    roots,
    scopes: options.scopes,
    kinds: options.kinds,
    targetHarness: options.targetHarness,
    limit: options.limit,
  }), options.json);
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 01e15490f0)

Solutions

1. Add at least one `--target <harness>` (e.g. `--target claude --target cursor`) to the handoff.
2. If you want the 'address all harnesses' behavior, use the `save` subcommand instead of `handoff`.
3. In scripts, fail fast if the computed target list is empty rather than letting the CLI reject it.

Example fix

// before
node scripts/memory.js handoff --from claude --title "Hand off work"
// after
node scripts/memory.js handoff --from claude --target cursor --title "Hand off work"

function buildTargets(targets) {
  const list = (Array.isArray(targets) ? targets : [targets]).filter(t => typeof t === 'string' && t.length > 0);
  if (list.length === 0) throw new Error('handoff needs at least one non-empty --target');
  return list.flatMap(t => ['--target', t]);
}

function hasTargets(value) {
  return Array.isArray(value) && value.length > 0 && value.every(t => typeof t === 'string' && t.length > 0);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `node scripts/memory.js handoff --from claude --title "X"` with no `--target`. Passing `--target` with no following value, or an options.targets array that is undefined or zero-length. Note the defaulting in saveInput (`options.targets || ['all']`) only applies to the `save` command path, not this handoff guard.

Common situations: Assuming handoffs default to all harnesses (they do not — only `save` does); a wrapper script that conditionally appends `--target` and skips it when the list is empty; copy-pasting a `save` invocation and changing the verb to `handoff` without adding target flags.

Related errors

• --from is required for handoffs.
• read requires exactly one memory ID.
• Unknown memory command: ${command}
• Unknown argument: ${arg}
• Unknown argument: ${arg}

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@01e15490f0 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e0b2832cce0e5df2. Report an issue: GitHub.