go-delve/delve · error

no address specified

Error message

no address specified

What it means

After flag parsing, ParseExamineMemoryArg requires a non-empty Operand: the address or expression whose memory should be examined. If the command contained only flags (or nothing at all), Delve returns this error.

Source

Thrown at service/api/command.go:271

			if err != nil || out.Size <= 0 || out.Size > 8 {
				return nil, errors.New("size must be a positive integer (<=8)")
			}
		case "-x":
			out.IsExpr = true
			// remaining args are going to be interpreted as expression
			out.Operand = strings.Join(args, " ")
			break loop
		default:
			if len(args) > 0 {
				return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown option %q", args[0])
			}
			out.Operand = cmd
			break loop // only one arg left to be evaluated as a uint
		}
	}

	if len(out.Operand) == 0 {
		return nil, errors.New("no address specified")
	}

	return &out, nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to a23773e6c3)

Solutions

1. Include an address or expression, e.g. `x -count 4 -size 8 0xc000010000` or `x &myVar`
2. Check the client sends a valid memory reference; for variables without an address, skip the request
3. Verify optimized-out or register-allocated variables aren't being passed as operands

Example fix

// before
s.examineMemory(ctx, "x -count 4 -size 8")
// after
s.examineMemory(ctx, "x -count 4 -size 8 0xc000010000")

if strings.TrimSpace(operand) == "" {
	return // do not issue examineMemory without an address/expression
}

When it happens

Trigger: `examineMemory` calls with an empty argument string, with only flags such as `x -count 4 -size 8`, or where the address argument was consumed by `-x` handling but evaluated to an empty expression.

Common situations: IDEs that send the request before the user typed an address; variables panel drivers that pass an empty expression for values without an address (e.g. optimized-out variables, register-only values).

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• size must be a positive integer (<=8)
• count/len must be a positive integer
• expected argument after -size
• too many arguments
• bad arguments: %w

AI-assisted analysis of go-delve/delve@a23773e6c3 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ded4c1180e171329. Report an issue: GitHub.