jackwener/OpenCLI · error · ArgumentError

${result?.error || 'Could not select Codex conversation'}${d

Error message

${result?.error || 'Could not select Codex conversation'}${detail}

What it means

When the in-page conversation-selection routine fails, `openCodexConversation` builds a message from the routine's `error` (defaulting to 'Could not select Codex conversation') plus a detail suffix listing available conversations/projects, and maps it to the appropriate error type. This branch throws an `ArgumentError` when the error starts with 'Multiple conversations matched', meaning the selection was ambiguous.

Source

Thrown at clis/codex/sidebar.js:331

        preferNativeClick: typeof page.nativeClick === 'function',
    };
    let result = await page.evaluate(`(${selectCodexConversationInDocument.toString()})(${JSON.stringify(target)})`);
    if (result?.expanded) {
        if (typeof page.nativeClick === 'function' && Number.isFinite(result.x) && Number.isFinite(result.y)) {
            await page.nativeClick(result.x, result.y);
        }
        await page.wait(0.75);
        result = await page.evaluate(`(${selectCodexConversationInDocument.toString()})(${JSON.stringify(target)})`);
    }
    if (!result?.ok || !result?.selected) {
        const detail = result?.conversations
            ? ` Available: ${result.conversations.map(item => `${item.index}. ${item.title}`).join('; ')}`
            : result?.projects
                ? ` Available projects: ${result.projects.join(', ')}`
                : '';
        const message = `${result?.error || 'Could not select Codex conversation'}${detail}`;
        if (result?.error?.startsWith('Invalid conversation index:')) {
            throw new ArgumentError(message);
        }
        if (result?.error?.startsWith('Multiple conversations matched')) {
            throw new ArgumentError(message, 'Pass --project or --thread-id to disambiguate the target conversation.');
        }
        if (result?.error?.startsWith('Project not found:')
            || result?.error?.startsWith('Conversation not found:')
            || result?.error?.startsWith('Thread not found:')
            || result?.error?.startsWith('No visible conversations under project:')) {
            throw new EmptyResultError('codex conversation', message);
        }
        throw new CommandExecutionError(message, 'Open the Codex sidebar and verify project/conversation rows are visible.');
    }
    if (typeof page.nativeClick === 'function' && Number.isFinite(result.x) && Number.isFinite(result.y)) {
        await page.nativeClick(result.x, result.y);
    }
    await page.wait(1);
    return result;
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Pass `--project <name>` to scope the selection to one project.
2. Pass `--thread-id <id>` to target the exact conversation unambiguously.
3. Use a more specific conversation title/index that matches exactly one conversation.
4. Rename duplicate conversations in Codex to make titles unique.

Example fix

// before
await openCodexConversation(page, { title: 'New chat' });
// after
await openCodexConversation(page, { title: 'New chat', project: 'API Client' });

// Disambiguate before calling: check how many conversations match the title
const matches = conversations.filter((c) => c.title === title);
if (matches.length > 1) {
  // require project or thread-id up front
  if (!project && !threadId) throw new Error(`'${title}' matches ${matches.length} conversations; pass --project or --thread-id`);
}

const isAmbiguousSelection = (e) => String(e?.message || e).includes('Multiple conversations matched');

try {
  await openCodexConversation(page, { title });
} catch (e) {
  if (isAmbiguousSelection(e)) {
    await openCodexConversation(page, { title, threadId: resolveThreadId(title) });
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Selecting a conversation by title/index matched more than one conversation (duplicate titles across projects or within the sidebar), and the caller supplied neither `--project` nor `--thread-id` to disambiguate.

Common situations: Two Codex projects contain identically named conversations; a generic title like 'New chat' exists multiple times; a partial title match hits several rows.

Related errors

• No Codex conversations were visible. Open the Codex sidebar
• Model name "${rawName}" is ambiguous.
• Picker option "${rawLabel}" is ambiguous.
• ${label} must be a positive integer
• ${label} cannot be empty

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2941fa5bd4eaf100. Report an issue: GitHub.