affaan-m/ECC · error

Unable to load issue #

Error message

Unable to load issue #${issueNumber} from ${repo}

What it means

getIssue throws when the `gh issue view --json ...` call succeeds but returns an empty result, so the library cannot return an issue object. Since gh normally errors on a missing issue, an empty JSON result is treated as 'issue not retrievable' and surfaced with this explicit message naming the issue number and repo.

Solutions

  1. Verify the issue exists: open https://github.com/<owner>/<name>/issues/<n> or run `gh issue view <n> -R <owner>/<name>`.
  2. Confirm the repo slug passed via --repo/-R is correct.
  3. Check you are authenticated with a token that can see the repo (private repos need access).
  4. If using ECC_GH_SHIM, ensure the shim returns data for this issue.

Example fix

// before
getIssue('org/wrong-repo', 42);
// after
getIssue('org/correct-repo', 42);
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

const exists = runGh(['issue', 'view', String(n), '-R', repo, '--json', 'number']);
if (!exists || !JSON.parse(exists).number) throw new Error(`Issue #${n} not found in ${repo}`);

Type guard

null

Try / catch

try {
  const issue = getIssue(repo, n);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.startsWith('Unable to load issue')) {
    console.error(`Verify ${repo}/issues/${n} exists and your token can access ${repo}.`);
  } else { throw e; }
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling getIssue (exposed as issue) with a repo/issue combination where gh returns null/empty JSON — e.g. the issue number does not exist in the repo, or a shim returns an empty body for the lookup.

Common situations: Typo in the issue number, referencing an issue in the wrong repo slug, an issue deleted or converted (e.g. to a discussion), or a custom shim that stubs responses and has no data for that issue.

Understand the failure class

Background: Record Not Found Errors: "not found", RecordNotFound, and "was not found" — what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@8321021c54 (2026-09-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2382bfb2dfe744ea. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at scripts/lib/github-coordination/gh-api.js:95

  } catch (error) {
    throw new Error(`gh ${args.join(' ')} returned invalid JSON: ${error.message}`);
  }
}

function getIssue(repo, issueNumber, options = {}) {
  const { owner, name } = normalizeRepo(repo);
  const json = runGhJson([
    'issue',
    'view',
    String(issueNumber),
    '--repo',
    `${owner}/${name}`,
    '--json',
    'number,title,body,url,state,labels,author,updatedAt,assignees',
  ], options);

  if (!json) {
    throw new Error(`Unable to load issue #${issueNumber} from ${repo}`);
  }

  return json;
}

function listIssues(repo, options = {}) {
  const { owner, name } = normalizeRepo(repo);
  const limit = Number.isFinite(options.limit) ? options.limit : 100;
  const state = options.state || 'all';
  const args = [
    'issue',
    'list',
    '--repo',
    `${owner}/${name}`,
    '--state',
    state,
    '--limit',
    String(limit),

View on GitHub (pinned to 8321021c54)