crewAIInc/crewAI · error · SystemExit

Missing required input '{name}'

Error message

Missing required input '{name}'

What it means

Input validation before a crew kickoff: _missing_input_names(crew, inputs) returned required input names that are absent from both the `--inputs` JSON and the `inputs` object in crew.json(c). The CLI prints each missing name in red plus a dim hint about how to supply them, then exits 1 before any LLM call is made — so this error costs nothing but must be fixed by providing data.

Source

Thrown at lib/cli/src/crewai_cli/run_crew.py:235

    if missing and interactive:
        inputs.update(
            prompt_for_inputs(
                missing,
                title="Crew inputs",
                subtitle="This crew needs the following to run.",
            )
        )
        missing = _missing_input_names(crew, inputs)

    if missing:
        for name in missing:
            click.secho(f"  Missing required input '{name}'", fg="red", err=True)
        click.secho(
            "  Provide them via --inputs or the `inputs` object in crew.json(c).",
            dim=True,
            err=True,
        )
        raise SystemExit(1)

    return inputs


def _json_loading_status(message: str) -> AbstractContextManager[Any]:
    from rich.console import Console
    from rich.text import Text

    console = Console()
    if not console.is_terminal:
        return nullcontext()
    return console.status(
        Text(f"  {message}", style="bold #1F7982"),
        spinner="dots",
    )


def _load_json_crew(crew_path: Path) -> tuple[Any, dict[str, Any]]:

View on GitHub (pinned to 754d7323be)

Solutions

1. Add each listed name to your --inputs JSON: `crewai run --inputs '{"topic": "..."}'` or point --inputs at a file.
2. Alternatively put the values in the `inputs` object of crew.json / crew.jsonc.
3. Check exact spelling/casing of keys against the error output — matching is exact.
4. If an input should be optional, remove it from the crew's required inputs in the definition.

Example fix

# before
$ crewai run --inputs '{"topic": "AI"}'
#   Missing required input 'audience'

# after
$ crewai run --inputs '{"topic": "AI", "audience": "engineers"}'

# Before running, check required inputs against the crew definition
required = {"topic", "audience"}          # from your crew definition
provided = set(inputs_from_cli_or_file())  # keys you will pass
missing = required - provided
if missing:
    raise SystemExit(f"missing required inputs: {sorted(missing)}")

When it happens

Trigger: Running `crewai run` (classic or JSON crew) where the crew definition declares required inputs but: --inputs is omitted, the JSON passed to --inputs is missing keys, key names don't match exactly (case/typo), or crew.json's `inputs` object doesn't cover all required fields.

Common situations: Sharing a crew definition without sharing the sample inputs file; renaming a required input in the definition but not in run scripts/CI; nested keys flattened vs dotted mismatches; new required inputs added by a teammate.

Related errors

• Invalid --inputs JSON: {exc}
• Invalid --inputs JSON: expected an object.
• Template '{name}' not found.
• Invalid --definition path: {definition} is not a file.
• Error: Unknown or readonly configuration key '{key}'

AI-assisted analysis of crewAIInc/crewAI@754d7323be (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fa756ea398f224cb. Report an issue: GitHub.