langchain-ai/deepagents · error · RuntimeError

thread display options are missing from the configuration ma

Error message

thread display options are missing from the configuration manifest

What it means

`_resolve_thread_list_display_options` raises `RuntimeError` when either `threads.sort_order` or `threads.relative_time` is absent from the configuration manifest. The manifest is the managed source of truth for these options; without them the CLI cannot safely resolve thread-list display settings, so it refuses to guess.

Source

Thrown at libs/code/deepagents_code/main.py:1118

def _resolve_thread_list_display_options(
    args: argparse.Namespace,
) -> tuple[str, bool]:
    """Resolve thread display flags through the ranked configuration chain.

    Returns:
        The effective sort key and relative-time state.

    Raises:
        RuntimeError: If either option is missing from the manifest.
    """
    from deepagents_code.config_manifest import _emit_ranked_diagnostics, get_option

    sort_option = get_option("threads.sort_order")
    relative_option = get_option("threads.relative_time")
    if sort_option is None or relative_option is None:
        msg = "thread display options are missing from the configuration manifest"
        raise RuntimeError(msg)

    resolver = _resolver_for_args(args)
    sort_order = resolver.get(sort_option)
    relative_time = resolver.get(relative_option)
    _emit_ranked_diagnostics(sort_option, sort_order)
    _emit_ranked_diagnostics(relative_option, relative_time)
    sort_by = "created" if sort_order.value == "created_at" else "updated"
    return sort_by, bool(relative_time.value)


def _install_cli_provider(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
    """Install parsed arguments into the shared resolution chain.

    Uses the deferred install: building the full resolver here would import
    `deepagents_code.model_config` and read both TOML snapshots, which the
    help-only fast paths (`dcode help`, bare command groups) must not pay
    before they return.
    """

View on GitHub (pinned to a1af029e6e)

Solutions

  1. Reinstall/upgrade `deepagents-code` cleanly (`pip install --force-reinstall deepagents-code`) so the config manifest matches the installed code version
  2. If developing locally, regenerate the config manifest so it includes `threads.sort_order` and `threads.relative_time`
  3. Inspect `deepagents_code/config_manifest` and confirm both option keys are registered; add the missing entries to the manifest definition

Example fix

// before (manifest fragment)
// threads.sort_order entry removed
// after
{"option": "threads.sort_order", "type": "enum", "default": "recent"},
{"option": "threads.relative_time", "type": "bool", "default": true}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

from deepagents_code.config_manifest import get_option

for key in ("threads.sort_order", "threads.relative_time"):
    if get_option(key) is None:
        raise SystemExit(
            f"config manifest missing {key!r}; reinstall deepagents-code"
        )

Try / catch

try:
    opts = _resolve_thread_list_display_options(args)
except RuntimeError as exc:
    logger.error("manifest integrity problem: %s", exc)
    raise SystemExit("reinstall deepagents-code to restore the config manifest")

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `cli_main` (or `_resolve_thread_list_display_options` directly) in an environment where the bundled `config_manifest` is out of sync with the code — e.g. a partially upgraded install, a tampered/stale manifest file, or a custom build that removed the manifest entries.

Common situations: Mixed-version installs (pip cache or stale `.pyc`/data files after upgrade); vendored or stripped distributions that dropped manifest entries; local development where the manifest generator was not rerun after schema changes.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of langchain-ai/deepagents@a1af029e6e (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4901ddc13bcaeb7d. Report an issue: GitHub.