flxzt/rnote · error

Either "--output-file" or "--output-format" is required.

Error message

Either "--output-file" or "--output-format" is required.

What it means

Doc export needs to know the target format, which must come from either --output-file or --output-format. clap marks one of them required; this (None, None) arm is the defensive fallback in create_doc_export_prefs_from_args that fires if neither is present despite the parse-time requirement.

Solutions

1. Add --output-format <svg|xopp|pdf> to the doc export command.
2. Or provide --output-file <path> with a supported extension.
3. If calling the function from code, ensure at least one of the two options is set.

Example fix

// before
rnote export doc notes.rnote
// after
rnote export doc notes.rnote --output-format pdf

case "$ARGS" in *--output-file*|*--output-format*) ;; *) echo "doc export needs --output-file or --output-format"; exit 2;; esac

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking doc export with neither --output-file nor --output-format. Normally rejected by clap; reachable only if the required constraint is removed or the prefs function is called directly with both None.

Common situations: Scripts building the command dynamically and dropping both flags; direct calls to create_doc_export_prefs_from_args from other code with unset options.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Must pass :limit option" / "Missing required option" — required option errors explained — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• There must be at least one rnote file specified for…
• Failed to get filename from the supplied file
• The option "--file-stem" cannot be used when exporting…
• Expected only a single rnote file. The option…
• The output file " " needs to have a supported extension to…

AI-assisted analysis of flxzt/rnote@bbc5354502 (2026-09-08). Data as JSON: /api/errors/662ab0ff43e7187d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/rnote-cli/src/export.rs:307

        (Some(file), None) => match file.as_ref().extension().and_then(|ext| ext.to_str()) {
            Some(extension) => doc_export_format_from_ext_str(extension)?,
            None => {
                return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                    "The output file \"{}\" needs to have a supported extension to determine its file type.",
                    file.as_ref().display()
                ));
            }
        },
        (None, Some(out_format)) => out_format,
        // should be unreachable because the arguments are exclusive (clap conflicts_with)
        (Some(_), Some(_)) => {
            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                "\"--output-file\" and \"--output-format\" are mutually exclusive."
            ));
        }
        // should be unreachable because either --output-file or --output-format is required
        (None, None) => {
            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                "Either \"--output-file\" or \"--output-format\" is required."
            ));
        }
    };

    let prefs = DocExportPrefs {
        export_format: format,
        with_background: !no_background,
        with_pattern: !no_pattern,
        optimize_printing,
        page_order,
    };

    Ok(prefs)
}

fn doc_export_format_from_ext_str(format: &str) -> anyhow::Result<DocExportFormat> {
    match format {

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