mislav/hub · error

%s %s

Error message

%s
%s

What it means

In commands/commands.go parseArguments, the flag parser (args.Flag.Parse) fails on the supplied arguments (unknown flag, missing value, bad syntax). The returned error is wrapped with the command's synopsis so the user sees the parse error followed by usage text.

Source

Thrown at commands/commands.go:67

type ErrHelp struct {
	err string
}

func (e ErrHelp) Error() string {
	return e.err
}

func (c *Command) parseArguments(args *Args) error {
	knownFlags := c.KnownFlags
	if knownFlags == "" {
		knownFlags = c.Long
	}
	args.Flag = utils.NewArgsParserWithUsage("-h, --help\n" + knownFlags)

	rest, err := args.Flag.Parse(args.Params)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("%s\n%s", err, c.Synopsis())
	}
	if args.Flag.Bool("--help") {
		return &ErrHelp{err: c.Synopsis()}
	}
	args.Params = rest
	args.Terminator = args.Flag.HasTerminated
	return nil
}

func (c *Command) Use(subCommand *Command) {
	if c.subCommands == nil {
		c.subCommands = make(map[string]*Command)
	}
	c.subCommands[subCommand.Name()] = subCommand
	subCommand.parentCommand = c
}

func (c *Command) UsageError(msg string) error {

View on GitHub (pinned to 5c547ed804)

Solutions

1. Read the usage block printed after the error and correct the flag name/value.
2. Run the command with `-h/--help` to list valid flags.
3. If a flag seems valid but rejected, check your hub version (`hub version`) and upgrade.

Example fix

// before
hub pull-request --recurse-submodules   // flag parse error + usage
// after
hub pull-request --base master --message "PR title"

// validate args against the parser before invoking
flags := utils.NewArgsParserWithUsage("-h, --help\n" + knownFlags)
if _, err := flags.Parse(os.Args[1:]); err != nil {
    fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, err)
    os.Exit(2)
}

rest, err := args.Flag.Parse(args.Params)
if err != nil {
    fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n%s\n", err, c.Synopsis())
    os.Exit(1)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the command with an unrecognized flag, a flag missing its required value, malformed `--flag=value` syntax, or flags placed after a terminator, making args.Flag.Parse(args.Params) return a non-nil error.

Common situations: Typo in a flag name (`--recursion` vs `--recursive`); using a flag not supported by the installed hub version; passing flags after positional args when the parser doesn't allow it; scripting the CLI with quoting mistakes.

Related errors

• %s%s%s
• Error: couldn't detect shell type. Please specify your shell
• hub alias: unsupported shell supported shells: %s
• Unsupported flag -b when checking out pull request
• Unsupported flag --orphan when checking out pull request

AI-assisted analysis of mislav/hub@5c547ed804 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d7539b7d1847e4aa. Report an issue: GitHub.