{"record":{"id":"0e5992e3223438c1","repo":"hashicorp/terraform","slug":"too-many-command-line-arguments-did-you-mean-to-u-0e5992","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Too many command line arguments. Did you mean to use -chdir?","messagePattern":"Too many command line arguments\\. Did you mean to use -chdir\\?","errorType":"validation","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"internal/command/command.go","lineNumber":66,"sourceCode":"The \"backend\" in Terraform defines how Terraform operates. The default\nbackend performs all operations locally on your machine. Your configuration\nis configured to use a non-local backend. This backend doesn't support this\noperation.\n`\n\n// ModulePath returns the path to the root module and validates CLI arguments.\n//\n// This centralizes the logic for any commands that previously accepted\n// a module path via CLI arguments. This will error if any extraneous arguments\n// are given and suggest using the -chdir flag instead.\n//\n// If your command accepts more than one arg, then change the slice bounds\n// to pass validation.\nfunc ModulePath(args []string) (string, error) {\n\t// TODO: test\n\n\tif len(args) > 0 {\n\t\treturn \"\", fmt.Errorf(\"Too many command line arguments. Did you mean to use -chdir?\")\n\t}\n\n\tpath, err := os.Getwd()\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn \"\", fmt.Errorf(\"Error getting pwd: %s\", err)\n\t}\n\n\treturn path, nil\n}\n","sourceCodeStart":48,"sourceCodeEnd":76,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/blob/c9def3e214014c1188faabfc4a5bde5095139765/internal/command/command.go#L48-L76","documentation":"Returned by ModulePath (command.go:62) when args is non-empty. Historically some Terraform commands accepted a module path as a positional argument; that was replaced by the global `-chdir` flag. ModulePath now rejects any positional args to surface the migration clearly — it returns this error rather than silently misinterpreting the argument. The error message itself suggests the fix.","triggerScenarios":"Passing a directory path as a positional argument to a command that uses ModulePath: `terraform init ./modules/foo`, `terraform validate path/to/module`, or `terraform fmt ./dir` (for commands routed through ModulePath). Any len(args) > 0 triggers it.","commonSituations":"Users upgrading from old Terraform versions where positional module paths were accepted; copy-pasted commands from outdated tutorials; muscle memory of `terraform validate .`; scripts that pass $PWD positionally.","solutions":["Use the global -chdir flag before the subcommand: `terraform -chdir=modules/foo init`.","Move into the target directory and run the command with no positional arg: `cd modules/foo && terraform init`.","Drop the positional path entirely if you intend the current directory.","Update scripts and docs to the -chdir form."],"exampleFix":"# before\nterraform init ./modules/vpc\n# Too many command line arguments. Did you mean to use -chdir?\n\n# after\nterraform -chdir=./modules/vpc init","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"// Reject positional args before calling ModulePath and surface -chdir guidance\nif len(args) > 0 {\n    return \"\", fmt.Errorf(\"Too many command line arguments. Did you mean to use -chdir?\")\n}\nreturn ModulePath(nil)","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":null,"preventionTips":["Use -chdir for non-cwd module paths; never positional args.","Update scripts and docs that pass positional paths.","In wrappers, strip positional paths and inject -chdir instead.","Teach users the flag is global and precedes the subcommand."],"tags":["cli","chdir","deprecation","user-input"],"analyzedSha":"c9def3e214014c1188faabfc4a5bde5095139765","analyzedAt":"2026-08-07T15:39:49.278Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-07T21:17:07.882Z"}