jackwener/OpenCLI · error · ArgumentError

--max-content must be a non-negative integer (0 = no cap, fu

Error message

--max-content must be a non-negative integer (0 = no cap, full content)

What it means

This ArgumentError is thrown during argument validation of the zhihu answer-detail command when the --max-content option is provided but is not a non-negative integer. 0 means no cap (full stripped answer is returned); any positive value is an explicit user cap on content length, mirroring the wikipedia `page` pattern so the tool never silently truncates. Non-integers (e.g. 'abc', 1.5) and negative numbers are rejected outright.

Source

Thrown at clis/zhihu/answer-detail.js:54

    ],
    columns: ['id', 'author', 'votes', 'comments', 'question_id', 'question_title', 'url', 'created_at', 'updated_at', 'content'],
    func: async (page, kwargs) => {
        const target = parseAnswerTarget(kwargs.id);
        if (!target) {
            throw new ArgumentError(
                'Answer ID must be a numeric id, a Zhihu answer URL, or answer:<qid>:<aid>',
                'Example: opencli zhihu answer-detail 1937205528846655537',
            );
        }
        const { answerId } = target;
        // `--max-content 0` (the default) means "no cap, return the
        // full stripped answer". Any positive value is an opt-in user
        // cap, mirroring the wikipedia `page` pattern — we never
        // silently truncate behind the user's back.
        const rawMaxContent = kwargs['max-content'];
        const maxContent = rawMaxContent == null ? 0 : Number(rawMaxContent);
        if (!Number.isInteger(maxContent) || maxContent < 0) {
            throw new ArgumentError(
                '--max-content must be a non-negative integer (0 = no cap, full content)',
                'Example: --max-content 2000',
            );
        }
        // Navigate to the answer page itself: this both seeds the
        // cookie/anti-bot context and works even when the caller did
        // not supply the parent question id (Zhihu redirects from
        // `/answer/<aid>` to the canonical `/question/<qid>/answer/<aid>`).
        try {
            await page.goto(`https://www.zhihu.com/answer/${answerId}`);
        } catch (err) {
            throw new CommandExecutionError(
                `Failed to open Zhihu answer ${answerId}: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`,
                'Open the answer URL in Chrome and retry after the page is reachable.',
            );
        }
        const currentQuestionId = page.getCurrentUrl
            ? extractQuestionIdFromAnswerUrl(await page.getCurrentUrl().catch(() => ''))

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Pass a plain non-negative integer, e.g. --max-content 2000, or omit the flag entirely for full content (0 = no cap).
2. Validate/normalize the value before invoking: Math.trunc a float and clamp negatives to 0.
3. If the value comes from a script/env var, ensure it is an unquoted digit string without units or sign.

Example fix

// before
clis zhihu answer-detail --max-content -1
// after
clis zhihu answer-detail --max-content 2000

const raw = process.argv.maxContent;
const n = raw == null ? 0 : Number(raw);
if (!Number.isInteger(n) || n < 0) throw new Error('--max-content must be a non-negative integer (0 = no cap)');

function isValidMaxContent(v) { const n = v == null ? 0 : Number(v); return Number.isInteger(n) && n >= 0; }

try {
  await answerDetail({ 'max-content': raw });
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof ArgumentError) {
    console.error(`Bad --max-content: ${err.message}`);
    process.exitCode = 2;
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `clis zhihu answer-detail --max-content -1` (negative), `--max-content 2.5` (non-integer), or `--max-content abc` (non-numeric string), i.e. any value where Number.isInteger(maxContent) is false or maxContent < 0 after Number(rawMaxContent) coercion.

Common situations: Typo in the CLI flag value, copy-pasting a value with a units suffix like '2000ch', shell scripts interpolating an empty or negative default (e.g. MAX=-1), or assuming the flag accepts floats for partial caps.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Unknown argument", "Invalid value", and "must be one of": invalid CLI argument errors explained — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

• ${label} must be a non-negative integer, got ${JSON.stringif
• limit must be a positive integer
• bilibili comment ${label} must be a positive integer
• bilibili comment message cannot be empty
• bilibili unfollow target cannot be empty

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/45781f9c147ef255. Report an issue: GitHub.