multica-ai/multica · error

value %q is not a valid number

Error message

value %q is not a valid number

What it means

Returned by `encodeIssuePropertyValue` when a number-typed property receives a `--value` that Go's `strconv.ParseFloat` cannot parse. The raw value is echoed verbatim so the bad input is obvious.

Source

Thrown at server/cmd/multica/cmd_property.go:479

		parts := strings.Split(raw, ",")
		ids := make([]string, 0, len(parts))
		for _, part := range parts {
			if strings.TrimSpace(part) == "" {
				continue
			}
			id, err := resolveOption(part)
			if err != nil {
				return nil, err
			}
			ids = append(ids, id)
		}
		if len(ids) == 0 {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("--value must list at least one option; valid options: %s", strings.Join(optionNames, ", "))
		}
		return json.Marshal(ids)
	case "number":
		if _, err := strconv.ParseFloat(raw, 64); err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("value %q is not a valid number", raw)
		}
		return json.RawMessage(raw), nil
	case "checkbox":
		if raw != "true" && raw != "false" {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("value %q is not a valid bool (expected true or false)", raw)
		}
		return json.RawMessage(raw), nil
	default: // text, date, url — validated server-side
		return json.Marshal(raw)
	}
}

// formatIssuePropertyValue renders a stored value for humans: option ids
// become option names, everything else prints via formatMetadataValue.
func formatIssuePropertyValue(property propertyDTO, value any) string {
	optionName := func(id string) string {
		for _, opt := range property.Config.Options {
			if opt.ID == id {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2c0912b6ec)

Solutions

1. Pass a plain decimal number in dot notation: `--value 3.14`, `--value -2`, `--value 1e3`.
2. Strip units/whitespace/locale separators in the calling script before passing the value.
3. Check the property's type with `multica property list` if unsure whether it expects a number.

Example fix

// before
multica issue property set ISS-1 --name Estimate --value "1,5"
// error: value "1,5" is not a valid number

// after
multica issue property set ISS-1 --name Estimate --value "1.5"

# bash: verify numeric input in dot notation before passing it
case "$VAL" in ''|*[!0-9.eE+-]*) echo "not a number: $VAL" >&2; exit 1;; esac

func isParsableNumber(raw string) bool {
    _, err := strconv.ParseFloat(raw, 64)
    return err == nil
}

When it happens

Trigger: `--value abc`, `--value 1,5` (comma decimal), `--value ""`, or any non-numeric string on a property whose type is `number`. Note the raw string is forwarded as JSON after the check, so it must parse as a float.

Common situations: Locale-formatted numbers (`1,5` instead of `1.5`); empty shell variables; trailing whitespace or units (`10px`) in scripted values.

Related errors

• invalid direction %q (want \"up\" or \"down\")
• --name is required
• --runtime-id is required
• --runtime-config must be valid JSON: %w
• %s must be a JSON object, or 'null' to clear

AI-assisted analysis of multica-ai/multica@2c0912b6ec (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f9f6b0f167a734ed. Report an issue: GitHub.