--exit-code with --watch requires --watch-count so the proce

Error message

--exit-code with --watch requires --watch-count so the process can exit

What it means

A cross-flag validation in parseArgs: combining --exit-code (non-zero exit when loops look stuck) with --watch (continuous refresh loop) requires --watch-count so the process has a deterministic stopping point. Without a count, --watch would loop forever and --exit-code could never reliably terminate the process, so the script refuses the ambiguous combination.

Source

Thrown at scripts/loop-status.js:126

      options.exitCode = true;
    } else if (arg === '--watch') {
      options.watch = true;
    } else if (arg === '--watch-count') {
      options.watchCount = readPositiveInteger(readValue(args, index, arg), arg);
      index += 1;
    } else if (arg === '--watch-interval-seconds') {
      options.watchIntervalSeconds = readPositiveNumber(readValue(args, index, arg), arg);
      index += 1;
    } else if (arg === '--write-dir') {
      options.writeDir = readValue(args, index, arg);
      index += 1;
    } else {
      throw new Error(`Unknown option: ${arg}`);
    }
  }

  if (options.exitCode && options.watch && options.watchCount === null) {
    throw new Error('--exit-code with --watch requires --watch-count so the process can exit');
  }

  return options;
}

function normalizeOptions(options = {}) {
  return {
    ...options,
    bashTimeoutSeconds: options.bashTimeoutSeconds ?? DEFAULT_BASH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
    exitCode: Boolean(options.exitCode),
    limit: options.limit ?? DEFAULT_LIMIT,
    transcriptPaths: options.transcriptPaths || [],
    watch: Boolean(options.watch),
    watchCount: options.watchCount ?? null,
    wakeGraceMultiplier: options.wakeGraceMultiplier ?? DEFAULT_WAKE_GRACE_MULTIPLIER,
    watchIntervalSeconds: options.watchIntervalSeconds ?? DEFAULT_WATCH_INTERVAL_SECONDS,
    writeDir: options.writeDir || null,
  };

View on GitHub (pinned to 01e15490f0)

Solutions

Add --watch-count N, e.g. `--exit-code --watch --watch-count 10`.
If you do not need continuous refresh, drop --watch and rely on a single-shot --exit-code run.
If you do not need an exit gate, drop --exit-code and let --watch run unbounded (still requires Ctrl-C).

Example fix

# before
node scripts/loop-status.js --exit-code --watch

# after
node scripts/loop-status.js --exit-code --watch --watch-count 10

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

function validateFlagCombinations(opts) {
  if (opts.exitCode && opts.watch && (opts.watchCount === null || opts.watchCount === undefined)) {
    throw new Error('--exit-code with --watch requires --watch-count so the process can exit');
  }
}

Try / catch

try { parseArgs(process.argv); }
catch (err) { if (/requires --watch-count/.test(err.message)) { console.error(err.message); printHelp(2); } else throw err; }

Prevention

In CI templates, always pair --exit-code --watch with a fixed --watch-count.
For one-shot exit gating, omit --watch entirely.
Document the rationale (bounded termination) next to the flag.

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking `loop-status.js --exit-code --watch` with no --watch-count. Adding --watch for live monitoring but forgetting that --exit-code needs a bounded run to make sense.

Common situations: CI scripts that want both an exit gate and periodic updates. Operators copying a watch example into an exit-code pipeline without the count.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@01e15490f0 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f1dd119887521ee0. Report an issue: GitHub.