jackwener/OpenCLI · error · EmptyResultError

${label} could not find location "${location}".

Error message

${label} could not find location "${location}".

What it means

This EmptyResultError is thrown when wttr.in answers HTTP 404 for the requested location, meaning wttr.in could not geocode the given location string to any place. It is a client-input problem (unknown location), not a service outage.

Source

Thrown at clis/wttr/utils.js:28

export function requireString(value, name) {
    if (typeof value !== 'string' || !value.trim()) {
        throw new ArgumentError(`--${name} is required`);
    }
    return value.trim();
}

export async function wttrFetch(location, label) {
    // wttr.in path-encodes the location. Spaces → %20 is fine; commas survive.
    const url = `${WTTR_BASE}/${encodeURIComponent(location)}?format=j1`;
    let resp;
    try {
        resp = await fetch(url, { headers: { 'User-Agent': UA, accept: 'application/json' } });
    } catch (err) {
        throw new CommandExecutionError(`${label} request failed: ${err.message}`);
    }
    if (resp.status === 404) {
        throw new EmptyResultError(label, `${label} could not find location "${location}".`);
    }
    if (!resp.ok) {
        throw new CommandExecutionError(`${label} returned HTTP ${resp.status}.`);
    }
    let body;
    try {
        body = await resp.json();
    } catch (err) {
        // wttr.in falls back to plain-text "Unknown location" for some bad inputs;
        // promote that to EmptyResult instead of pretending we got JSON.
        throw new EmptyResultError(label, `${label} returned non-JSON body (likely unknown location).`);
    }
    return body;
}

// wttr.in's "weatherDesc" / "lang_en" fields are arrays of `{ value: '...' }` objects.
// Single-element 99% of the time but the schema is a list.
export function pickWeatherDesc(arr) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Use a simpler or canonical location name ('London', airport code 'LHR', or 'lat,lon')
2. Verify the location resolves with curl 'https://wttr.in/<loc>?format=j1'
3. Catch EmptyResultError and prompt the user to correct the location

Example fix

// before
await query({ location: 'San Fransisco' }); // typo -> 404
// after
await query({ location: 'San Francisco' }); // or '37.77,-122.42'

// Verify the location geocodes before calling
const probe = await fetch(`https://wttr.in/${encodeURIComponent(loc)}?format=j1`);
if (probe.status === 404) throw new Error(`Unknown location: ${loc}`);

try {
  result = await query({ location });
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof EmptyResultError) {
    result = await query({ location: nearestKnownCity });
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: wttrFetch receives resp.status === 404 from https://wttr.in/<location>?format=j1; any command passing an unresolvable location string hits it.

Common situations: Misspelled city names; passing ZIP codes or region names wttr.in cannot geocode; encoding artifacts (e.g. stray characters) in the location; using place names unique to another geocoder's index.

Related errors

• Chess.com returned 404 for ${url}
• coingecko has no coin with id "${id}".
• crates.io returned 404 for ${url}.
• dblp returned 404 — the requested record may not exist.
• No Lobste.rs stories found for domain "${domain}".

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6d848f27c24f7207. Report an issue: GitHub.