jackwener/OpenCLI · info · EmptyResultError

No MDN results matched "${query}" (locale ${locale}).

Error message

No MDN results matched "${query}" (locale ${locale}).

What it means

EmptyResultError thrown when the MDN search API responds successfully but returns zero documents for the query and locale. This is a signal that nothing matched, not a malfunction — the message includes the query and locale for clarity.

Source

Thrown at clis/mdn/search.js:86

        if (resp.status === 429) {
            throw new CommandExecutionError(
                'mdn search returned HTTP 429 (rate limited)',
                'MDN throttles bursty traffic; wait a few seconds and retry.',
            );
        }
        if (!resp.ok) {
            throw new CommandExecutionError(`mdn search returned HTTP ${resp.status}`);
        }
        let body;
        try {
            body = await resp.json();
        }
        catch (err) {
            throw new CommandExecutionError(`mdn search returned malformed JSON: ${err?.message ?? err}`);
        }
        const docs = Array.isArray(body?.documents) ? body.documents : [];
        if (!docs.length) {
            throw new EmptyResultError('mdn search', `No MDN results matched "${query}" (locale ${locale}).`);
        }
        return docs.slice(0, limit).map((doc, i) => ({
            rank: i + 1,
            title: String(doc.title ?? ''),
            slug: String(doc.slug ?? ''),
            locale: String(doc.locale ?? locale),
            summary: String(doc.summary ?? '').replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim(),
            url: doc.mdn_url ? `${MDN_BASE}${doc.mdn_url}` : '',
        }));
    },
});

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Rephrase or shorten the query (e.g. 'array reduce' instead of a full sentence).
2. Retry with locale 'en-US', which has the most complete coverage.
3. Check spelling of the API/feature name.
4. Try related or broader terms (e.g. 'map' instead of 'typed array map constructor').

Example fix

// before
await mdnSearch({ query: 'querySelectorr All', locale: 'ja' });
// after
try {
  return await mdnSearch({ query: 'querySelectorAll', locale: 'ja' });
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e.message).includes('No MDN results')) {
    return await mdnSearch({ query: 'querySelectorAll', locale: 'en-US' });
  }
  throw e;
}

if (!query || !query.trim()) return []; // avoid pointless no-match requests

try { return await mdnSearch({ query, locale }); } catch (e) {
  if (String(e.message).includes('No MDN results')) return suggestAlternatives(query);
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Searching a term MDN has no page for; misspelled API/class names; searching in a locale where the article does not exist (docs array is empty for that locale).

Common situations: Typos in API names ('queryselector al'); obscure or very new features not yet documented; non-en-US locales with missing translations; overly specific multi-word queries.

Related errors

• No 12306 stations match "${keyword}"
• ${label}
• No papers found for author "${authorText}". Try alternate sp
• No papers found. Try a different keyword.
• crates search

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bcae53bf4800474e. Report an issue: GitHub.