facebook/docusaurus · error

Missing Docusaurus CLI command.

Error message

Missing Docusaurus CLI command.

What it means

Thrown by the CLI's catch-all action when Commander invokes the default action with no command argument — i.e. the user ran `docusaurus` (or `docusaurus --some-flag`) with no subcommand at all. cli.outputHelp() has already printed help before the throw.

Source

Thrown at packages/docusaurus/src/commands/cli.ts:290

    )
    .option(
      '--migrate',
      'migrate existing heading IDs to the target --syntax, if they are using a different syntax (default: false)',
    )
    .option(
      '--overwrite',
      'overwrite existing heading IDs, re-generate them from the heading text (default: false)',
    )
    .option(
      '--maintain-case',
      "keep the headings' casing, otherwise make all lowercase (default: false)",
    )
    .action(writeHeadingIds);

  cli.arguments('<command>').action((cmd) => {
    cli.outputHelp();
    if (!cmd) {
      throw new Error(logger.interpolate`Missing Docusaurus CLI command.`);
    }
    throw new Error(
      logger.interpolate`Unknown Docusaurus CLI command code=${cmd}`,
    );
  });

  // There is an unrecognized subcommand
  // Let plugins extend the CLI before parsing
  if (!isInternalCommand(command)) {
    await externalCommand({cli, siteDir, config});
  }

  return cli;
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 3f483e80e3)

Solutions

1. Provide a subcommand: `docusaurus build`, `docusaurus start`, etc.
2. Check package.json scripts to ensure each Docusaurus invocation includes its subcommand.
3. Run `docusaurus --help` to list available commands.

Example fix

// before (package.json)
"scripts": { "build": "docusaurus" }
// after
"scripts": { "build": "docusaurus build" }

const args = process.argv.slice(2);
if (args.length === 0 || args[0].startsWith('-')) {
  console.error('Missing Docusaurus subcommand. See `docusaurus --help`.');
  process.exit(1);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Executing `docusaurus` or `npx docusaurus` with no subcommand; only global flags supplied.

Common situations: Typing `docusaurus` to explore options, CI script that forgot the subcommand, or npm script misconfigured as `"build": "docusaurus"` instead of `"docusaurus build"`.

Related errors

• Unknown Docusaurus CLI command code=${cmd}
• Invalid package manager choice ${packageManager}. Must be on
• Directory already exists at path=${dest}!
• ${pluginIdLogPrefix}: this version already exists! Use a ver
• ${pluginIdLogPrefix}: no docs found in path=${docsDir}.

AI-assisted analysis of facebook/docusaurus@3f483e80e3 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0c969969a1bef14f. Report an issue: GitHub.