the required parameter 'channelID' is empty. Rerun the comma

Error message

the required parameter 'channelID' is empty. Rerun the command with -c flag

What it means

The peer snapshot submitrequest command requires a target channel via -c/--channelID before it can submit a snapshot request to the peer. validateSubmitRequest returns this error when channelID is empty, aborting submission.

Source

Thrown at internal/peer/snapshot/submitrequest.go:84

		BlockNumber:     blockNumber,
	}
	signedRequest, err := signSnapshotRequest(cl.signer, request)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	_, err = cl.snapshotClient.Generate(context.Background(), signedRequest)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.WithMessage(err, "failed to submit the request")
	}

	fmt.Fprint(cl.writer, "Snapshot request submitted successfully\n")
	return nil
}

func validateSubmitRequest() error {
	if channelID == "" {
		return errors.New("the required parameter 'channelID' is empty. Rerun the command with -c flag")
	}
	return nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 2736b63f8f)

Solutions

Rerun with: peer snapshot submitrequest -c <channelID> -b <blockNumber>.
Check the snapshot subcommand help (peer snapshot submitrequest --help) for required flags.
Guard channel variables in automation before invoking.

Example fix

// before
peer snapshot submitrequest -b 1500
// after
peer snapshot submitrequest -c mychannel -b 1500

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if [ -z "$CHANNEL" ] || [ -z "$BLOCK" ]; then
  echo "usage: peer snapshot submitrequest -c <channelID> -b <blockNumber>"; exit 1
fi
peer snapshot submitrequest -c "$CHANNEL" -b "$BLOCK"

Prevention

Always pass -c with -b for submitrequest
Validate required env vars at script start
Consult snapshot --help for the full flag list

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'peer snapshot submitrequest' without -c/--channelID or with an empty value, typically alongside -b <blockNumber>.

Common situations: Scripts with an unset channel variable; retyping the command manually and forgetting the required flag; examples copied from non-snapshot peer commands where -c was optional.

Understand the failure class

Background: "--flag is required" and "must specify" CLI errors: how missing-required-flag validation works and how to fix it — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of hyperledger/fabric@2736b63f8f (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1767f401a2227ebf. Report an issue: GitHub.