{"record":{"id":"9c9be21d5a1fdd9d","repo":"opentofu/opentofu","slug":"too-many-command-line-arguments-did-you-mean-to-u","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":64,"sourceCode":"The \"backend\" in OpenTofu defines how OpenTofu 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: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\n\treturn path, nil\n}\n","sourceCodeStart":46,"sourceCodeEnd":74,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/opentofu/opentofu/blob/3561785c48c1ce615e7c50261bd351f26053efa2/internal/command/command.go#L46-L74","documentation":"Raised by modulePath (internal/command/command.go:64) when a command that takes no positional arguments receives at least one. OpenTofu centralized module-path validation here: extra args almost always mean the user tried to pass a working directory the pre-0.14 way, so the message points at the -chdir global flag instead.","triggerScenarios":"Invoking a zero-arg command like 'tofu plan ./envs/prod', 'tofu apply prod', or 'tofu init infra' - any positional argument reaches modulePath and trips len(args) > 0.","commonSituations":"Scripts written for Terraform <= 0.13 that passed a module path; users assuming apply takes a directory; wrappers or aliases that append arguments unexpectedly.","solutions":["Move the directory to the global flag: tofu -chdir=./envs/prod plan (flag must come before the subcommand)","Or cd into the target directory and run the command with no positional args","Remove stray arguments if they were accidental (copy/paste, wrapper bugs)"],"exampleFix":"# before\ntofu plan ./envs/prod\n# Error: Too many command line arguments. Did you mean to use -chdir?\n\n# after\ntofu -chdir=./envs/prod plan","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"// wrapper-side guard mirroring modulePath's contract:\nfunc validateArgs(cmd string, args []string) error {\n    zeroArg := map[string]bool{\"plan\": true, \"apply\": true, \"init\": true, \"validate\": true, \"refresh\": true}\n    if zeroArg[cmd] && len(args) > 0 {\n        return fmt.Errorf(\"%s takes no positional args; use tofu -chdir=%s %s\", cmd, args[0], cmd)\n    }\n    return nil\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"path, err := modulePath(args)\nif err != nil {\n    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"Too many command line arguments\") {\n        // rewrite to: tofu -chdir=<arg> <cmd> and retry, or surface usage help\n    }\n    return err\n}","preventionTips":["Use -chdir before the subcommand instead of positional paths","Lint legacy scripts that pass directory arguments to plan/apply/validate","Check wrappers/aliases for accidentally appended arguments"],"tags":["cli","usage","arguments","chdir"],"backgroundTag":null,"analyzedSha":"3561785c48c1ce615e7c50261bd351f26053efa2","analyzedAt":"2026-08-15T23:27:16.226Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-16T03:17:38.424Z"}