What causes "Unknown argument: ${arg}" in affaan-m/ECC?

Wrap the payload in an object with a `diff` key: { diff: unifiedDiff, changedFiles: [...] }.

affaan-m/ECC · error · Error

Unknown argument: ${arg}

Error message

Unknown argument: ${arg}

What it means

After successfully parsing args (or receiving a non-string value), the workflow requires the result to be a non-null object. This throw fires when the parsed value is a primitive (number, boolean, string), null, or an array — anything that is not a plain object holding a `diff` field. The review contract is object-shaped; an array or scalar cannot satisfy it.

Source

Thrown at scripts/auto-update.js:47

  };

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

    if (arg === '--target') {
      parsed.targets.push(args[index + 1] || null);
      index += 1;
    } else if (arg === '--repo-root') {
      parsed.repoRoot = args[index + 1] || null;
      index += 1;
    } else if (arg === '--dry-run') {
      parsed.dryRun = true;
    } else if (arg === '--json') {
      parsed.json = true;
    } else if (arg === '--help' || arg === '-h') {
      parsed.help = true;
    } else {
      throw new Error(`Unknown argument: ${arg}`);
    }
  }

  return parsed;
}

function deriveRepoRootFromState(state) {
  const operations = Array.isArray(state && state.operations) ? state.operations : [];

  for (const operation of operations) {
    if (typeof operation.sourcePath !== 'string' || !operation.sourcePath.trim()) {
      continue;
    }

    if (typeof operation.sourceRelativePath !== 'string' || !operation.sourceRelativePath.trim()) {
      continue;
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 01e15490f0)

Solutions

Wrap the payload in an object with a `diff` key: { diff: unifiedDiff, changedFiles: [...] }.
If you previously passed a bare string, move that string into the `diff` property.
Add a runtime type check in the caller: typeof payload === 'object' && payload !== null && !Array.isArray(payload).

Example fix

// before
orchReview('--- a\n+++ b\n'); // bare diff string parses to a string, not object

// after
orchReview({ diff: '--- a\n+++ b\n', changedFiles: ['b'] });

Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

// Confirm the payload is a non-null, non-array object before calling.
const ok = typeof input === 'object' && input !== null && !Array.isArray(input);
if (!ok) throw new Error('orch-review payload must be a plain object with a diff field');

Type guard

function isReviewPayload(v) {
  return typeof v === 'object' && v !== null && !Array.isArray(v) && typeof v.diff === 'string';
}

Try / catch

try {
  orchReview(payload);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message === 'orch-review: args must be an object') {
    payload = { diff: String(payload) }; // wrap a bare value, then retry
    orchReview(payload);
  }
}

Prevention

Always wrap your review data in { diff, changedFiles } — never pass a bare diff or array.
Add a type check in the caller so mis-shaped payloads fail there, not inside the gate.

When it happens

Trigger: Passing args as a JSON array string '["file.js"]'; passing a bare diff string 'orchReview("--- a\n...")'; passing a number/boolean; passing args = null.

Common situations: Caller passes the raw diff text directly instead of wrapping it in { diff: ... }; caller passes a list of files instead of the expected object envelope; args defaults to null somewhere upstream.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@01e15490f0 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/926789182a1251fe. Report an issue: GitHub.