affaan-m/ECC · error · Error

must be a positive number

Error message

${flagName} must be a positive number

What it means

readPositiveNumber in scripts/loop-status.js converts a flag's string value with Number() and requires the result to be a finite number greater than 0. Non-numeric strings, NaN, Infinity, zero, and negatives all throw this error naming the offending flag.

Solutions

1. Pass a plain positive number without units: --interval 30, not 30s.
2. Ensure the value is > 0; use a small positive value instead of 0 or a negative number.
3. Verify shell variables holding the value are set and numeric.
4. Check --help for the expected unit (typically seconds) and valid range.

Example fix

// before
node scripts/loop-status.js --interval 30s
// after
node scripts/loop-status.js --interval 30

function assertPositiveInt(v, name) {
  const n = Number(v);
  if (!Number.isFinite(n) || n <= 0 || !Number.isInteger(n)) {
    throw new Error(`${name} must be a positive integer, got: ${JSON.stringify(v)}`);
  }
  return n;
}
assertPositiveInt(process.env.INTERVAL ?? '30', '--interval');

const isPositiveNumber = (v) => typeof v === 'string' && v.trim() !== '' && Number.isFinite(Number(v)) && Number(v) > 0;

try {
  parseArgs(args);
} catch (err) {
  if (String(err.message).includes('must be a positive number')) {
    console.error(`${err.message} — pass a plain number like 30 (no units, no 0/negative)`);
    process.exitCode = 1;
    return;
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing --interval abc, --interval 0, --interval -5, or --interval 1e999 (Infinity) to loop-status; also triggered by readPositiveInteger for fractional values routed through it.

Common situations: Typos in numeric values; pasting values with units ('30s', '5m') instead of plain numbers; unset/empty shell variables becoming NaN; intending a 'forever' value with 0 or -1 which the parser rejects.

Understand the failure class

Background: "unknown output mode", "invalid value for flag", "expects true/false": fixing invalid flag value errors in CLI tools — this error's family across 24 libraries.

Related errors

• all overlays must be readable local files
• all takes must be readable local files
• Arguments must not contain NUL bytes.
• asset name must be a simple filename stem (letters, digits…
• At least one guided harness must be selected

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@8321021c54 (2026-09-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d942667b33cec635. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at scripts/loop-status.js:51

    '',
    'Examples:',
    '  node scripts/loop-status.js --json',
    '  node scripts/loop-status.js --transcript ~/.claude/projects/-repo/session.jsonl'
  ].join('\n'));
}

function readValue(args, index, flagName) {
  const value = args[index + 1];
  if (!value || value.startsWith('--')) {
    throw new Error(`${flagName} requires a value`);
  }
  return value;
}

function readPositiveNumber(value, flagName) {
  const number = Number(value);
  if (!Number.isFinite(number) || number <= 0) {
    throw new Error(`${flagName} must be a positive number`);
  }
  return number;
}

function readPositiveInteger(value, flagName) {
  const number = readPositiveNumber(value, flagName);
  if (!Number.isInteger(number)) {
    throw new Error(`${flagName} must be a positive integer`);
  }
  return number;
}

function parseArgs(argv) {
  const args = argv.slice(2);
  const options = {
    bashTimeoutSeconds: DEFAULT_BASH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
    exitCode: false,
    home: null,

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