affaan-m/ECC · error · Error

Unknown argument

Error message

Unknown argument: ${arg}

What it means

The CLI argument parser in scripts/operator-readiness-dashboard.js rejects any command-line flag it does not recognize. parseArgs whitelists known flags (--format, --json, --markdown, --write, --exit-code, --allow-untracked, etc.) and throws this error for anything else, so typos or flags borrowed from other tools fail fast at startup.

Solutions

1. Read the error message: it names the exact unrecognized argument; fix the typo or remove the flag.
2. Run `node scripts/operator-readiness-dashboard.js --help` (or read the top of parseArgs) to list supported flags.
3. Use the documented shorthand flags instead: `--json`, `--markdown`, `--format <fmt>`, `--write <path>`, `--exit-code`.
4. If the flag is genuinely needed, add an explicit parsing branch for it in parseArgs before the throw.

Example fix

// before
node scripts/operator-readiness-dashboard.js --format=jason
// after
node scripts/operator-readiness-dashboard.js --format=json

const ALLOWED = ['--format','--json','--markdown','--write','--exit-code','--allow-untracked'];
const unknown = args.filter(a => a.startsWith('--') && !ALLOWED.some(k => a === k || a.startsWith(k + '=')));
if (unknown.length) { console.error('Unknown flags:', unknown.join(', ')); process.exit(2); }

function isKnownFlag(arg, allowed) { return typeof arg === 'string' && allowed.includes(arg); }

try {
  const parsed = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
  await main(parsed);
} catch (err) {
  if (err.message.startsWith('Unknown argument:')) {
    console.error(`${err.message}\nRun with --help to see supported flags.`);
    process.exit(2);
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running the dashboard script with a misspelled or unsupported flag, e.g. `node scripts/operator-readiness-dashboard.js --formt json`, an unimplemented flag like `--verbose`, or a positional argument the parser does not skip, all reach the `throw new Error(\`Unknown argument: ${arg}\`)` line.

Common situations: Typo in a flag from memory or documentation; copying flags from another ECC script (e.g. passing `--out` instead of `--write`); shell scripts built before a flag was renamed; quoting mistakes that turn a value into a standalone token (e.g. `--format json extra`).

Understand the failure class

Background: "Unknown argument", "Invalid value", and "must be one of": invalid CLI argument errors explained — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

• must be a positive integer
• Invalid
• Unknown argument
• all overlays must be readable local files
• all takes must be readable local files

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@8321021c54 (2026-09-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6b4946d14c78cee7. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at scripts/operator-readiness-dashboard.js:214

    }

    if (arg === '--generated-at') {
      parsed.generatedAt = readValue(args, index, arg);
      index += 1;
      continue;
    }

    if (arg.startsWith('--generated-at=')) {
      parsed.generatedAt = arg.slice('--generated-at='.length);
      continue;
    }

    if (arg === '--exit-code') {
      parsed.exitCode = true;
      continue;
    }

    throw new Error(`Unknown argument: ${arg}`);
  }

  if (!['text', 'json', 'markdown'].includes(parsed.format)) {
    throw new Error(`Invalid format: ${parsed.format}. Use text, json, or markdown.`);
  }

  if (parsed.writePath && parsed.format === 'text') {
    throw new Error('--write requires --json, --markdown, or --format json|markdown');
  }

  parsed.allowUntracked = parsed.allowUntracked.map(normalizeRelativePrefix).filter(Boolean);

  return parsed;
}

function readText(rootDir, relativePath) {
  try {
    return fs.readFileSync(path.join(rootDir, relativePath), 'utf8');

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