affaan-m/ECC · error · Error

Missing value for --limit

Error message

Missing value for --limit

What it means

In consult.js parseArgs(), when --limit is encountered, the parser checks if argv[index + 1] exists. If it does not (i.e., --limit is the last argument), it throws before even attempting to parse the integer. Note that unlike --target, this check does not reject values starting with '-', so '--limit --target' would pass the existence check but then fail in parsePositiveInteger.

Source

Thrown at scripts/consult.js:220

  if (args.includes('--help') || args.includes('-h')) {
    parsed.help = true;
    return parsed;
  }

  for (let index = 0; index < args.length; index += 1) {
    const arg = args[index];

    if (arg === '--json') {
      parsed.json = true;
    } else if (arg === '--target') {
      if (!args[index + 1] || args[index + 1].startsWith('-')) {
        throw new Error('Missing value for --target');
      }
      parsed.target = args[index + 1];
      index += 1;
    } else if (arg === '--limit') {
      if (!args[index + 1]) {
        throw new Error('Missing value for --limit');
      }
      parsed.limit = Math.min(parsePositiveInteger(args[index + 1], '--limit'), MAX_LIMIT);
      index += 1;
    } else if (arg.startsWith('-')) {
      throw new Error(`Unknown argument: ${arg}`);
    } else {
      parsed.queryParts.push(arg);
    }
  }

  if (!SUPPORTED_INSTALL_TARGETS.includes(parsed.target)) {
    throw new Error(
      `Unknown install target: ${parsed.target}. Expected one of ${SUPPORTED_INSTALL_TARGETS.join(', ')}`
    );
  }

  parsed.query = parsed.queryParts.join(' ').trim();
  return parsed;

View on GitHub (pinned to 01e15490f0)

Solutions

1. Provide a positive integer immediately after --limit, e.g. --limit 10
2. If building commands dynamically, ensure the limit variable is set before appending --limit
3. Omit --limit entirely to use the default of 5

Example fix

// before
node scripts/consult.js security --limit
// after
node scripts/consult.js security --limit 10

// Verify --limit has a following value before invoking consult.js
const argv = process.argv.slice(2);
const limitIdx = argv.indexOf('--limit');
if (limitIdx !== -1 && !argv[limitIdx + 1]) {
  console.error('Missing value for --limit. Provide a positive integer.');
  process.exit(1);
}

try {
  const options = parseArgs(process.argv);
} catch (error) {
  if (error.message === 'Missing value for --limit') {
    console.error('Provide a positive integer after --limit, e.g. --limit 5');
    process.exit(2);
  }
  throw error;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing --limit as the last argument on the command line; a wrapper script that conditionally appends --limit but forgets the value.

Common situations: Dynamic command construction in Makefiles or CI YAML where the limit variable is empty; copy-paste from partial documentation.

Related errors

• ${label} must be a positive integer
• Missing value for --target
• Unknown argument: ${arg}
• Unknown install target: ${parsed.target}. Expected one of ${
• --write requires a path

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@01e15490f0 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/027cf0be5de5c3d1. Report an issue: GitHub.