gastownhall/beads · error

invalid priority: %s

Error message

invalid priority: %s

What it means

Priority filters require an integer value. buildPriorityPredicate calls strconv.Atoi on the comparison value before applying the operator; a non-numeric value fails conversion and produces this error. Note priority in bd is a plain integer, not the P0-P4 label.

Source

Thrown at internal/query/evaluator.go:753

	}
}

func (e *Evaluator) buildStatusPredicate(comp *ComparisonNode) (func(*types.Issue) bool, error) {
	status := types.Status(strings.ToLower(comp.Value))
	switch comp.Op {
	case OpEquals:
		return func(i *types.Issue) bool { return i.Status == status }, nil
	case OpNotEquals:
		return func(i *types.Issue) bool { return i.Status != status }, nil
	default:
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("status does not support %s operator", comp.Op.String())
	}
}

func (e *Evaluator) buildPriorityPredicate(comp *ComparisonNode) (func(*types.Issue) bool, error) {
	priority, err := strconv.Atoi(comp.Value)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid priority: %s", comp.Value)
	}
	switch comp.Op {
	case OpEquals:
		return func(i *types.Issue) bool { return i.Priority == priority }, nil
	case OpNotEquals:
		return func(i *types.Issue) bool { return i.Priority != priority }, nil
	case OpLess:
		return func(i *types.Issue) bool { return i.Priority < priority }, nil
	case OpLessEq:
		return func(i *types.Issue) bool { return i.Priority <= priority }, nil
	case OpGreater:
		return func(i *types.Issue) bool { return i.Priority > priority }, nil
	case OpGreaterEq:
		return func(i *types.Issue) bool { return i.Priority >= priority }, nil
	default:
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected operator: %s", comp.Op.String())
	}
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

1. Use the bare integer in the filter, e.g. `priority = 1` or `priority <= 2`.
2. Strip stray quotes, spaces, or P prefixes from the value.
3. Check the issue's actual priority with `bd show <id>` to confirm the numeric form.

Example fix

// before
bd list --query "priority = P1"
// after
bd list --query "priority = 1"

// Go: ensure priority values are integers before querying
if _, err := strconv.Atoi(value); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("priority must be a number, got %q", value)
}

// Go
pred, err := e.buildComparisonPredicate(node)
if err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("filter %q rejected: %w", node.String(), err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: A query filter like `priority = P1`, `priority > high`, or `priority = ""` — any comparison whose value cannot parse as an int.

Common situations: Typing the priority label (P1, high) instead of the numeric value; extra whitespace or quotes left in the query; confusion after a schema change from string priorities to integers.

Related errors

• unexpected operator: %s
• invalid priority value: %s
• priority must be between 0 and 4
• priority != requires predicate filtering
• priority < %d matches nothing

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/12914a7ad2071a7d. Report an issue: GitHub.