multica-ai/multica · warning

--roots-only does not support --before / --before-id

Error message

--roots-only does not support --before / --before-id

What it means

multica's issue comment list command rejects the combination of --roots-only with --before/--before-id. --roots-only fetches only top-level issue comments, a mode that has no cursor pagination, so a before-cursor is meaningless there. The check fires before any HTTP request is made.

Source

Thrown at server/cmd/multica/cmd_issue.go:1841

		return fmt.Errorf("--recent must be a positive integer")
	}
	if tailSet && tail < 0 {
		return fmt.Errorf("--tail must be a non-negative integer (0 returns just the thread root)")
	}
	if thread != "" && recentSet {
		return fmt.Errorf("--thread and --recent are mutually exclusive")
	}
	if rootsOnly && thread != "" {
		return fmt.Errorf("--roots-only and --thread are mutually exclusive")
	}
	if rootsOnly && recentSet {
		return fmt.Errorf("--roots-only and --recent are mutually exclusive")
	}
	if rootsOnly && tailSet {
		return fmt.Errorf("--roots-only and --tail are mutually exclusive")
	}
	if rootsOnly && before != "" {
		return fmt.Errorf("--roots-only does not support --before / --before-id")
	}
	if tailSet && thread == "" {
		return fmt.Errorf("--tail requires --thread (it is a thread-scoped limit)")
	}
	if (before == "") != (beforeID == "") {
		return fmt.Errorf("--before and --before-id must be set together (composite cursor for stable pagination)")
	}
	if before != "" && !recentSet && !(thread != "" && tailSet) {
		return fmt.Errorf("--before / --before-id require --recent (thread cursor) or --thread + --tail (reply cursor)")
	}

	params := url.Values{}
	if since != "" {
		params.Set("since", since)
	}
	if rootsOnly {
		params.Set("roots_only", "true")
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to 2c0912b6ec)

Solutions

1. Drop --before/--before-id from the command when using --roots-only.
2. If you intended cursor pagination, remove --roots-only and use --recent with the printed cursor pair.
3. If you intended only top-level comments, page with --since instead of a before-cursor.

Example fix

# before
multica issue comment list ISS-1 --roots-only --before 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z --before-id 42
# after
multica issue comment list ISS-1 --roots-only

# bash: reject the bad combo before invoking the CLI
if [[ -n "$BEFORE" && "$ROOTS_ONLY" == "true" ]]; then
  echo "refusing: --roots-only has no cursor pagination" >&2
  exit 2
fi
multica issue comment list "$ISSUE" ${ROOTS_ONLY:+--roots-only} ${BEFORE:+--before "$BEFORE" --before-id "$BEFORE_ID"}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `multica issue comment list <issue> --roots-only --before <ts>` (or with --before-id). Any invocation where rootsOnly is true and the before string is non-empty fails immediately.

Common situations: Copy-pasting a 'next thread cursor' printed by a previous --recent run into a --roots-only invocation; scripts that mechanically forward every pagination cursor regardless of the listing mode.

Related errors

• --before and --before-id must be set together (composite cur
• --before / --before-id require --recent (thread cursor) or -
• list runs: %w
• --kind must be schedule or webhook
• --cron is required for --kind schedule

AI-assisted analysis of multica-ai/multica@2c0912b6ec (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ba063e35d9e2a4ae. Report an issue: GitHub.