asdf-vm/asdf · error

no plugin name specified

Error message

no plugin name specified

What it means

`asdf plugin <command> <name>` (extensionCommand dispatches to plugin binaries) requires the plugin/tool name as the first argument. When no argument is supplied, it logs and returns this error before any config is loaded.

Source

Thrown at internal/cli/cli.go:626

		env, err = execenv.Generate(plugin, env)
		if _, ok := err.(plugins.NoCallbackError); !ok && err != nil {
			return err
		}
	}

	err = hook.RunWithOutput(conf, fmt.Sprintf("pre_%s_%s", plugin.Name, filepath.Base(executable)), args, os.Stdout, os.Stderr)
	if err != nil {
		cli.OsExiter(1)
		return err
	}

	finalEnv := execute.MergeWithCurrentEnv(env)
	return exec.Exec(executable, args, finalEnv)
}

func extensionCommand(logger *log.Logger, args []string) error {
	if len(args) < 1 {
		err := errors.New("no plugin name specified")
		logger.Printf("%s", err.Error())
		return err
	}

	conf, err := config.LoadConfig()
	if err != nil {
		logger.Printf("error loading config: %s", err)
		return err
	}

	pluginName := args[0]
	plugin := plugins.New(conf, pluginName)

	err = runExtensionCommand(plugin, args[1:])
	logger.Printf("error running extension command: %s", err.Error())
	return err
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 074a1722ca)

Solutions

1. Pass the plugin name as the first argument, e.g. `asdf plugin add nodejs`
2. Quote/verify script variables so an unset variable does not disappear from argv
3. Run the command with `--help` to see required arguments

Example fix

// before
$ asdf plugin add
// after
$ asdf plugin add nodejs https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-nodejs.git

if [ -z "$1" ]; then
  echo "usage: asdf plugin add <name> [git-url]" >&2
  exit 1
fi

out=$(asdf plugin add "$PLUGIN" 2>&1) || {
  echo "plugin add failed: $out" >&2
}

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking a plugin/extension subcommand (e.g. `asdf plugin add`, `asdf list`) with zero arguments, so len(args) < 1.

Common situations: Typing `asdf plugin` alone expecting a listing; scripting with an empty variable, e.g. `asdf plugin add $PLUGIN` where PLUGIN is unset.

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• must provide command
• no executable for tool version
• usage: asdf env <command>
• usage: asdf exec <command>
• usage: asdf shimversions <command>

AI-assisted analysis of asdf-vm/asdf@074a1722ca (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/636da34ce170e7b7. Report an issue: GitHub.