hashicorp/vagrant · error · Vagrant::Errors::CLIInvalidUsage

This command was not invoked properly. The help for this com

Error message

This command was not invoked properly. The help for this command is
available below.

%{help}

What it means

`vagrant cloud box show` requires exactly one positional argument: the `org/box-name` identifier to display. CLIInvalidUsage is raised for an empty argv or more than one entry. All filtering (--architecture, --provider, --[no-]auth) is done through options, never extra positionals.

Source

Thrown at plugins/commands/cloud/box/show.rb:47

              o.on("--architectures ARCH", String, "Filter results by architecture support (can be defined multiple times)") do |a|
                options[:architectures].push(a).uniq!
              end
              o.on("--versions VERSION", String, "Display box information for a specific version (can be defined multiple times)") do |v|
                options[:versions].push(v).uniq!
              end
              o.on("--providers PROVIDER", String, "Filter results by provider support (can be defined multiple times)") do |pv|
                options[:providers].push(pv).uniq!
              end
              o.on("--[no-]auth", "Authenticate with Vagrant Cloud if required before searching") do |l|
                options[:quiet] = !l
              end
            end

            # Parse the options
            argv = parse_options(opts)
            return if !argv
            if argv.empty? || argv.length > 1
              raise Vagrant::Errors::CLIInvalidUsage,
                help: opts.help.chomp
            end

            @client = client_login(@env, options.slice(:quiet))
            org, box_name = argv.first.split('/', 2)

            show_box(org, box_name, @client&.token, options.slice(:architectures, :providers, :versions))
          end

          # Display the requested box to the user
          #
          # @param [String] org Organization name of box
          # @param [String] box_name Name of box
          # @param [String] access_token User access token
          # @param [Hash] options Options for box filtering
          # @option options [String] :versions Specific verisons of box
          # @return [Integer]
          def show_box(org, box_name, access_token, options={})

View on GitHub (pinned to 35f3160f4a)

Solutions

  1. Pass exactly one identifier: `vagrant cloud box show hashicorp/bionic64`
  2. Filter output with options: `vagrant cloud box show --provider virtualbox myorg/mybox`
  3. Check `vagrant cloud box show -h` for the accepted flags

Example fix

# before
vagrant cloud box show myorg/mybox 1.0.0
# after
vagrant cloud box show --version 1.0.0 myorg/mybox
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# Ruby: one positional, slash-separated; everything else must be a flag
pos = argv.reject { |a| a.start_with?("-") }
unless pos.size == 1 && pos.first =~ %r{\A[^/\s]+/[^/\s]+\z}
  abort "usage: vagrant cloud box show org/box-name [--provider P] ..."
end

Try / catch

begin
  env.cli(%w[cloud box show], org_box)
rescue Vagrant::Errors::CLIInvalidUsage => e
  $stderr.puts e.message.lines.first
  exit 64
end

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Running `vagrant cloud box show` with no identifier; appending a version or provider as a second positional such as `vagrant cloud box show myorg/mybox 1.0.0`; an unquoted identifier containing spaces.

Common situations: Trying to show a specific version by adding it as an argument (not supported by this command); forgetting which args are positional when moving between cloud subcommands; empty identifier variables in automation.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/vagrant@35f3160f4a (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fd330008219726f8. Report an issue: GitHub.