affaan-m/ECC · error · Error

requires a value

Error message

${flagName} requires a value

What it means

readValue in scripts/loop-status.js extracts the value following a flag. If the flag is the last argument or the next token starts with '--' (i.e. looks like another flag), it throws, because the flag was given without an actual value.

Solutions

1. Supply the value directly after the flag: --interval 30.
2. Check that any shell variable used for the value is actually set and non-empty.
3. Do not place another flag where a value is expected; reorder arguments.
4. Run with --help to see which flags require values.

Example fix

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

function flagHasValue(argv, flag) {
  const i = argv.indexOf(flag);
  if (i === -1) return true;
  const next = argv[i + 1];
  return typeof next === 'string' && next !== '' && !next.startsWith('--');
}
// usage: if (!flagHasValue(args, '--interval')) exit with usage error

try {
  parseArgs(args);
} catch (err) {
  if (String(err.message).endsWith('requires a value')) {
    console.error(`${err.message}\nExample: node scripts/loop-status.js --interval 30`);
    process.exitCode = 1;
    return;
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running loop-status with a value-taking flag at the end of the command line (e.g. 'node scripts/loop-status.js --interval') or immediately followed by another flag ('--interval --watch').

Common situations: Forgetting the value after a flag; copying a boolean-style invocation onto a value flag; shell variable expansion to empty ('--interval $MY_INTERVAL' with unset variable) leaving nothing after the flag.

Understand the failure class

Background: "--flag is required" and "must specify" CLI errors: how missing-required-flag validation works and how to fix it — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• requires a value.
• requires a value
• requires a value
• Missing value for
• Missing value for

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@8321021c54 (2026-09-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e0f90b4e410695f6. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at scripts/loop-status.js:43

    '  --bash-timeout-seconds <n>     Age before a pending Bash call is stale (default: 1800)',
    '  --wake-grace-multiplier <n>    ScheduleWakeup grace multiplier (default: 2)',
    '  --now <time>                   Override current time (ISO, epoch ms, or "now")',
    '  --exit-code                    Exit 2 on attention signals, 1 on scan errors',
    '  --watch                        Refresh status until interrupted',
    '  --watch-count <n>              Stop after n watch refreshes',
    '  --watch-interval-seconds <n>   Seconds between watch refreshes (default: 5)',
    '  --write-dir <dir>              Write index.json and per-session status snapshots',
    '',
    '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;

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