What causes "The path argument must be provided." in google-gemini/gemini-cli?

Provide a local directory path: `gemini skills link ./my-skill`.

The path argument must be provided.

Error message

The path argument must be provided.

What it means

Thrown by the yargs `.check()` validator on the `gemini skills link <path>` command when the positional `path` argument is missing or falsy. Like the install command, it backs up the positional's `demandOption: true` and ensures the handler never runs against an undefined path. Linking creates a symlink to a local skill directory, so a missing path has no valid target.

Source

Thrown at packages/cli/src/commands/skills/link.ts:80

        describe: 'The local path of the skill to link.',
        type: 'string',
        demandOption: true,
      })
      .option('scope', {
        describe:
          'The scope to link the skill into. Defaults to "user" (global).',
        choices: ['user', 'workspace'],
        default: 'user',
      })
      .option('consent', {
        describe:
          'Acknowledge the security risks of linking a skill and skip the confirmation prompt.',
        type: 'boolean',
        default: false,
      })
      .check((argv) => {
        if (!argv.path) {
          throw new Error('The path argument must be provided.');
        }
        return true;
      }),
  handler: async (argv) => {
    await handleLink({
      // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-type-assertion
      path: argv['path'] as string,
      // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-type-assertion
      scope: argv['scope'] as 'user' | 'workspace',
      // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-type-assertion
      consent: argv['consent'] as boolean | undefined,
    });
    await exitCli();
  },
};

View on GitHub (pinned to 5024443c72)

Solutions

Provide a local directory path: `gemini skills link ./my-skill`.
Verify the path exists and is non-empty before running: `[ -n "$P" ] && gemini skills link "$P"`.
When calling the handler directly, populate `argv.path` with a non-empty string.

Example fix

// before
gemini skills link
// after
gemini skills link /home/me/skills/my-skill

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const p = typeof argv.path === 'string' ? argv.path : '';
if (!p) {
  console.error('Usage: gemini skills link <path>');
  process.exit(2);
}

Type guard

function hasLinkPath(argv: unknown): argv is { path: string } {
  return (
    typeof argv === 'object' && argv !== null &&
    typeof (argv as { path?: unknown }).path === 'string' &&
    (argv as { path: string }).path.length > 0
  );
}

Prevention

Verify the path exists with `fs.existsSync` before linking.
Quote path arguments to survive spaces.
Use absolute paths to avoid ambiguity with `workspaceDir`.

When it happens

Trigger: Running `gemini skills link` with no positional, with an empty string, or invoking the `linkCommand` module without a populated `argv.path`.

Common situations: Forgetting the path argument; relative paths that the shell expands to nothing; copy-paste errors that drop the path; scripts that pass an unbound variable.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of google-gemini/gemini-cli@5024443c72 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2f2471b85d3e794d. Report an issue: GitHub.