All flags should be before the first argument (stray flags f

Error message

All flags should be before the first argument (stray flags found: #{stray_flags}

What it means

Error "All flags should be before the first argument (stray flags found: #{stray_flags}" thrown in jordansissel/fpm.

Source

Thrown at lib/fpm/command.rb:291

    @conflicts = []
    @replaces = []
    @provides = []
    @dependencies = []
    @config_files = []
    @directories = []
  end # def initialize

  # Execute this command. See Clamp::Command#execute and Clamp's documentation
  def execute
    logger.level = :warn
    logger.level = :info if verbose? # --verbose
    logger.level = :debug if debug? # --debug
    if log_level
      logger.level = log_level.to_sym
    end

    if (stray_flags = args.grep(/^-/); stray_flags.any?)
      logger.warn("All flags should be before the first argument " \
                   "(stray flags found: #{stray_flags}")
    end

    # Some older behavior, if you specify:
    #   'fpm -s dir -t ... -C somepath'
    # fpm would assume you meant to add '.' to the end of the commandline.
    # Let's hack that. https://github.com/jordansissel/fpm/issues/187
    if input_type == "dir" and args.empty? and !chdir.nil?
      logger.info("No args, but -s dir and -C are given, assuming '.' as input")
      args << "."
    end

    if !File.exist?(workdir)
      logger.fatal("Given --workdir=#{workdir} is not a path that exists.")
      raise FPM::Package::InvalidArgument, "The given workdir '#{workdir}' does not exist."
    end
    if !File.directory?(workdir)
      logger.fatal("Given --workdir=#{workdir} must be a directory")

View on GitHub (pinned to b6d77ba72a)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/fpm/command.rb:291 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of jordansissel/fpm@b6d77ba72a (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ae9117eff7a227af. Report an issue: GitHub.