junegunn/fzf · error

invalid wrap mode: %s (expected: char or word)

Error message

invalid wrap mode: %s (expected: char or word)

What it means

Thrown when --wrap is given an explicit argument that is not 'char' or 'word'. --wrap alone enables character wrapping; --wrap word enables word wrapping; any other string (including empty or misspelled values) is rejected. Note --wrap-word exists as a separate option.

Source

Thrown at src/options.go:2947

			opts.Cycle = true
		case "--highlight-line":
			opts.CursorLine = true
		case "--no-highlight-line":
			opts.CursorLine = false
		case "--no-cycle":
			opts.Cycle = false
		case "--wrap":
			given, str := optionalNextString()
			if given {
				switch str {
				case "char":
					opts.Wrap = true
					opts.WrapWord = false
				case "word":
					opts.Wrap = true
					opts.WrapWord = true
				default:
					return errors.New("invalid wrap mode: " + str + " (expected: char or word)")
				}
			} else {
				opts.Wrap = true
			}
		case "--no-wrap":
			opts.Wrap = false
			opts.WrapWord = false
		case "--wrap-word":
			opts.Wrap = true
			opts.WrapWord = true
		case "--no-wrap-word":
			opts.WrapWord = false
		case "--wrap-sign":
			str, err := nextString("wrap sign required")
			if err != nil {
				return err
			}
			opts.WrapSign = &str

View on GitHub (pinned to bd4efa277b)

Solutions

1. Use `--wrap` alone, `--wrap char`, `--wrap word`, or `--wrap-word`
2. Check the variable feeding --wrap: must be unset/empty-free and exactly 'char' or 'word'
3. Upgrade fzf if --wrap is not recognized at all (added in 0.48+)

Example fix

# before
fzf --wrap line
# after
fzf --wrap word

# bash
[[ "$WRAP" =~ ^(char|word)$ ]] || WRAP=""
[ -n "$WRAP" ] && fzf --wrap "$WRAP" || fzf --wrap

wrap_mode_ok() { case "$1" in char|word) return 0;; *) return 1;; esac; }

When it happens

Trigger: `--wrap line`, `--wrap chars` (plural), `--wrap ''` via an optional-argument quirk, or a variable expanding to something unexpected.

Common situations: Assuming 'line' or 'lines' is valid vocabulary; scripts passing WRAP_MODE variables that are empty or mis-set; fzf versions where --wrap itself is unavailable (then the option is unknown outright).

Related errors

• invalid info style (expected: default|right|hidden|inline[-r
• list border cannot be 'line'
• unknown action: ${spec}
• invalid layout (expected: default / reverse / reverse-list)
• history max must be a positive integer

AI-assisted analysis of junegunn/fzf@bd4efa277b (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/85fb2e30871dbdcf. Report an issue: GitHub.