jackwener/OpenCLI · error · ArgumentError

target must be "code" or "work"

Error message

target must be "code" or "work"

What it means

The mode command's target argument accepts only 'code' or 'work' (case/whitespace-insensitive). Any other non-empty value — while omitted/empty values are allowed and mean 'read current mode' — is rejected with this ArgumentError before touching the UI.

Source

Thrown at clis/trae-solo/mode.js:24

// aria-label is "Switch to Work mode" when on Code, and "Switch to Code
// mode" when on Work. Clicking it toggles between the two.

cli({
    site: 'trae-solo',
    name: 'mode',
    access: 'write',
    description: 'Read or switch TRAE SOLO between Code mode and Work mode.',
    domain: 'localhost',
    strategy: Strategy.UI,
    browser: true,
    args: [
        { name: 'target', positional: true, required: false, help: 'Target mode: code or work. Omit to read current.' },
    ],
    columns: ['Status', 'Mode'],
    func: async (page, kwargs) => {
        const want = String(kwargs.target || '').trim().toLowerCase();
        if (want && !['code', 'work'].includes(want)) {
            throw new ArgumentError('target must be "code" or "work"');
        }

        const current = await page.evaluate(`(function() {
      const cap = document.querySelector('[class*="capsule"]');
      if (!cap) return '';
      const aria = cap.getAttribute('aria-label') || '';
      // aria says "Switch to <Other> mode" — current is the OTHER one.
      const m = aria.match(/Switch to (Code|Work) mode/i);
      if (m) return m[1].toLowerCase() === 'work' ? 'code' : 'work';
      return '';
    })()`);
        if (!current) {
            throw selectorError('TRAE SOLO mode capsule (.index-module__capsule__ ...).');
        }

        if (!want) {
            return [{ Status: 'Active', Mode: current }];
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Pass exactly 'code' or 'work' (case-insensitive)
2. Omit the target argument entirely to just read the current mode
3. Check the command's help text for the accepted values

Example fix

// before
await traeSoloCli.mode({ target: 'build' }); // throws
// after
await traeSoloCli.mode({ target: 'work' });

const t = String(target ?? '').trim().toLowerCase();
if (t && !['code', 'work'].includes(t)) throw new Error('target must be "code" or "work"');

const isModeTarget = (t) => ['code','work'].includes(String(t ?? '').trim().toLowerCase());

try {
  await traeSoloCli.mode({ target });
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof ArgumentError && /"code" or "work"/.test(e.message)) {
    console.error('Usage: mode [code|work] — omit to read current.');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing target values like 'writer', 'build', 'Code Mode', 'coding', or any string not in ['code','work'] after trim+lowercase.

Common situations: Confusing Trae SOLO's Code/Work mode toggle with other IDE modes; guessing synonyms; copy-pasting a longer UI label like 'Work Mode' instead of the bare keyword.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Must be a positive integer", "Invalid value", "Unsupported": the invalid-argument-value error family, when a library rejects the value you pass — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

• tab must be configured / run-history / task-template
• <train-no> "${trainNo}" does not look like a 12306 internal
• --from station must not be empty
• --to station must not be empty
• --seat-types must contain only 12306 seat letters/digits (A-

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/555d8c15b4410b73. Report an issue: GitHub.