jackwener/OpenCLI · error · CommandExecutionError

Manus ${label} returned a malformed API payload

Error message

Manus ${label} returned a malformed API payload

What it means

CommandExecutionError thrown by requireObject() when, after all known error markers are ruled out, the unwrapped value is still not a plain object. It indicates the Manus endpoint returned something the CLI's contract does not recognize.

Source

Thrown at clis/manus/_utils.js:74

        payload.details,
    ];
    return candidates.find((value) => typeof value === 'string' && value.trim())?.trim() || '';
}

export function requireObject(payload, label) {
    const value = unwrapEvaluateResult(payload);
    if (value?.__authRequired) {
        throw new AuthRequiredError(MANUS_DOMAIN, value.message || 'Authentication required — please sign in to Manus in the browser');
    }
    if (value?.__httpError) {
        const message = extractErrorMessage(value);
        throw new CommandExecutionError(message ? `Manus ${label} failed (HTTP ${value.__httpError}): ${message}` : `Manus ${label} failed (HTTP ${value.__httpError})`);
    }
    if (value?.__error) {
        throw new CommandExecutionError(`Manus ${label} failed: ${value.message || value.__error}`);
    }
    if (!value || typeof value !== 'object' || Array.isArray(value)) {
        throw new CommandExecutionError(`Manus ${label} returned a malformed API payload`);
    }
    return value;
}

export function requireArray(value, label) {
    if (!Array.isArray(value)) {
        throw new CommandExecutionError(`Manus ${label} returned a malformed API payload`);
    }
    return value;
}

export function requireString(value, label) {
    const text = String(value ?? '').trim();
    if (!text) {
        throw new CommandExecutionError(`Manus ${label} returned a malformed API payload`);
    }
    return text;
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Log the raw payload before requireObject to see the actual value.
2. Check for bot-protection/CDN interstitials by opening Manus in the browser.
3. Update the CLI to match the new response schema.
4. Retry if the page navigated mid-evaluate (transient).

Example fix

// before
const data = await requireObject(payload, 'sessions');
// after
if (payload == null) console.error('raw evaluate result:', payload);
const data = await requireObject(payload, 'sessions');

if (!raw || typeof raw !== 'object' || Array.isArray(raw)) {
  console.error('unexpected Manus payload:', typeof raw, String(raw).slice(0, 200));
}

function isPlainObject(v) { return v !== null && typeof v === 'object' && !Array.isArray(v); }

try {
  const data = await manusData();
} catch (e) {
  if (/malformed API payload/.test(e.message)) {
    console.error('Unrecognized Manus response — check for bot-protection pages or API changes');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: unwrapEvaluateResult yields null/undefined/array/primitive — e.g. the evaluate returned undefined, a serialized HTML page, or the endpoint's top-level response changed from object to array/string.

Common situations: Manus API response shape change after an update, evaluate result lost due to page navigation, proxy/CDN returning HTML challenge pages (bot protection).

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

Related errors

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• Maimai search API payload missing talent list
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• lichess user: Lichess user "${username}" returned empty payl
• LinkedIn Learning searchV2 returned malformed payload: missi

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5bceb721af2e7338. Report an issue: GitHub.