jackwener/OpenCLI · error · ArgumentError

Argument "media" is required.

Error message

Argument "media" is required.

What it means

An ArgumentError thrown by validateInstagramStoryArgs() when kwargs.media is undefined. The story command cannot run without a media file path, so this is an upfront argument validation failure with a hint pointing at the --media flag.

Source

Thrown at clis/instagram/story.js:17

import * as fs from 'node:fs';
import * as path from 'node:path';
import { ArgumentError, CommandExecutionError } from '@jackwener/opencli/errors';
import { cli, Strategy } from '@jackwener/opencli/registry';
import { publishStoryViaPrivateApi, resolveInstagramPrivatePublishConfig, } from './_shared/private-publish.js';
import { resolveCurrentUserId, resolveInstagramRuntimeInfo } from './_shared/runtime-info.js';
import { INSTAGRAM_HOME_URL } from './_shared/navigation.js';
const SUPPORTED_STORY_IMAGE_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.webp']);
const SUPPORTED_STORY_VIDEO_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['.mp4']);
function requirePage(page) {
    if (!page)
        throw new CommandExecutionError('Browser session required for instagram story');
    return page;
}
function validateInstagramStoryArgs(kwargs) {
    if (kwargs.media === undefined) {
        throw new ArgumentError('Argument "media" is required.', 'Provide --media /path/to/file.jpg or --media /path/to/file.mp4');
    }
}
function normalizeStoryMediaItem(kwargs) {
    const raw = String(kwargs.media ?? '').trim();
    const parts = raw.split(',').map((part) => part.trim()).filter(Boolean);
    if (parts.length === 0) {
        throw new ArgumentError('Argument "media" is required.', 'Provide --media /path/to/file.jpg or --media /path/to/file.mp4');
    }
    if (parts.length > 1) {
        throw new ArgumentError('Instagram story currently supports a single media item.', 'Provide one image or one video path with --media');
    }
    const resolved = path.resolve(parts[0]);
    if (!fs.existsSync(resolved)) {
        throw new ArgumentError(`Story media file not found: ${resolved}`);
    }
    const ext = path.extname(resolved).toLowerCase();
    if (SUPPORTED_STORY_IMAGE_EXTENSIONS.has(ext)) {
        return { type: 'image', filePath: resolved };

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Re-run the command with --media /path/to/file.jpg (or .mp4)
2. Check flag spelling — it must be exactly --media
3. If calling programmatically, include a `media` property in the kwargs object
4. Wrap calls in argument validation that checks media before invoking

Example fix

// before
await story({}); // missing media
// after
await story({ media: '/path/to/photo.jpg' });

function assertMedia(kwargs) {
  if (kwargs?.media === undefined) {
    throw new Error('Usage: instagram story --media /path/to/file.jpg|.mp4');
  }
}

function hasMedia(k) { return k !== null && typeof k === 'object' && typeof k.media === 'string' && k.media.length > 0; }

try {
  await postStory(kwargs);
} catch (e) {
  if (/Argument \\"media\\" is required/.test(e.message)) {
    console.error('Pass --media <file.jpg|.mp4>');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking the instagram story command without passing --media (kwargs.media === undefined).

Common situations: Forgetting the --media flag on the CLI, typos like --file or --image, or calling the underlying function programmatically without a media key.

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

• ${label} is required
• ${label} must be a positive integer
• ${label} must be <= ${maxValue}
• dblp ${label} must be a positive integer
• dblp ${label} must be <= ${maxValue}

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/749aa95df7fdcc27. Report an issue: GitHub.