invalid arguments: get requires exactly 0 or 1 argument: got

Error message

invalid arguments: get requires exactly 0 or 1 argument: got '%s'

What it means

The hubble CLI 'config get' command accepts at most one argument (the config key to read). RunGet dispatches on len(args): 0 args shows the current config view, 1 arg fetches the key, and anything more returns this error. It is a usage/arity guard thrown by the command's Args/E handler in cmd/config/get.go.

Source

Thrown at hubble/cmd/config/get.go:29

	"github.com/spf13/viper"
	"go.yaml.in/yaml/v3"
)

func newGetCommand(vp *viper.Viper) *cobra.Command {
	return &cobra.Command{
		Use:   "get [KEY]",
		Short: "Get an individual value in the hubble config file",
		Long: "Get an individual value in the hubble config file.\n" +
			"If KEY is not provided, this command is equivalent to 'view'.",
		ValidArgs: vp.AllKeys(),
		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
			switch len(args) {
			case 1:
				return runGet(cmd, vp, args[0])
			case 0:
				return runView(cmd, vp)
			default:
				return fmt.Errorf("invalid arguments: get requires exactly 0 or 1 argument: got '%s'", strings.Join(args, " "))
			}
		},
	}
}

func runGet(cmd *cobra.Command, vp *viper.Viper, key string) error {
	if !isKey(vp, key) {
		return fmt.Errorf("unknown key: %s", key)
	}

	// each viper key/val entry should be bound to a command flag
	flag := cmd.Flag(key)
	if flag == nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("key=%s not bound to a flag", key)
	}

	var val any
	switch typ := flag.Value.Type(); typ {

View on GitHub (pinned to ac7b90affa)

Solutions

Call 'hubble config get' with at most one key: 'hubble config get <key>'
If you need multiple keys, run the command once per key or use 'hubble config' (view) to see all values
Check shell quoting: wrap variables in double quotes, e.g. "hubble config get $KEY"
Run 'hubble config get --help' to confirm accepted argument counts

Example fix

// before
hubble config get server-rate-limit flow-rate-limit
// after
hubble config get server-rate-limit
hubble config get flow-rate-limit

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Validate arg count before invoking
args="$*"
count=$(echo $args | wc -w)
if [ "$count" -gt 1 ]; then
  echo "config get accepts at most 1 key; got $count"
  exit 1
fi
hubble config get "$1"

Try / catch

// Bash: check exit code of hubble (cobra returns the error's message and code 1)
if ! out=$(hubble config get "$key" 2>&1); then
  case "$out" in
    *"invalid arguments: get requires"*) echo "Usage: hubble config get [key]" ;;
    *) echo "$out" ;;
  esac
fi

Prevention

Always pass exactly one quoted key to 'config get'
Quote shell variables to avoid word splitting
Use 'hubble config' (view) when you want all values instead of multiple get calls

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'hubble config get key1 key2' (two or more positional args), e.g. pasting a multi-word key, quoting mistakes, or scripting that expands extra tokens.

Common situations: Scripts passing unquoted variables that split into multiple words; users copying CLI examples for other tools; shell glob expansion adding arguments.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of cilium/cilium@ac7b90affa (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8659de6f1b4c5176. Report an issue: GitHub.