nanocoai/nanoclaw · error · Error

nothing to update — provide at least one of: ${updatableCols

Error message

nothing to update — provide at least one of: ${updatableCols.map((c) => '--' + c.name.replace(/_/g, '-')).join(', ')}

What it means

Thrown by genericUpdate in src/cli/crud.ts when the update args contain none of the resource's updatable columns — the UPDATE would be a no-op. The error enumerates every accepted flag so the caller can correct the invocation.

Source

Thrown at src/cli/crud.ts:327

function genericUpdate(def: ResourceDef) {
  const updatableCols = def.columns.filter((c) => c.updatable);
  const cols = visibleColumns(def).join(', ');
  return async (args: Record<string, unknown>) => {
    const id = args.id as string;
    if (!id) throw new Error(`${def.name} id is required`);

    const updates: Record<string, unknown> = {};
    for (const col of updatableCols) {
      const v = args[col.name];
      if (v !== undefined) {
        if (col.enum && !col.enum.includes(String(v))) {
          throw new Error(`${col.name} must be one of: ${col.enum.join(', ')}`);
        }
        updates[col.name] = col.type === 'number' ? Number(v) : v;
      }
    }
    if (Object.keys(updates).length === 0) {
      throw new Error(
        `nothing to update — provide at least one of: ${updatableCols.map((c) => '--' + c.name.replace(/_/g, '-')).join(', ')}`,
      );
    }

    if (def.preUpdate) {
      const current = await getDb().get<Record<string, unknown>>(
        `SELECT ${cols} FROM ${def.table} WHERE ${def.idColumn} = ?`,
        id,
      );
      if (!current) throw new Error(`${def.name} not found: ${id}`);
      await def.preUpdate(updates, current);
    }

    const setClause = Object.keys(updates)
      .map((k) => `${k} = @${k}`)
      .join(', ');
    const result = await getDb().run(`UPDATE ${def.table} SET ${setClause} WHERE ${def.idColumn} = @_id`, {
      ...updates,

View on GitHub (pinned to 294ef2aee8)

Solutions

1. Add at least one of the flags listed in the message
2. If the field you want is absent from the list, it is not updatable — use the dedicated command or accept it's immutable

Example fix

# before
ncl groups update --id my-group
# after
ncl groups update --id my-group --personality friendly

const updatable = Object.keys(args).filter(k => k !== 'id' && updatableNames.includes(k));
if (updatable.length === 0) { console.error('nothing to update'); process.exit(1); }

When it happens

Trigger: `ncl <resource> update --id <id>` with no field flags, or with only non-updatable column flags (e.g. trying to change an id or created_at).

Common situations: Attempting to modify a computed/system column; scripts where the field flags failed to parse; misunderstanding which columns are mutable.

Related errors

• ${def.name} id is required
• ${def.name} not found: ${id}
• ${col.name} must be one of: ${col.enum.join(', ')}
• --${col.name.replace(/_/g, '-')} is required
• --${column.name.replace(/_/g, '-')} must be true or false

AI-assisted analysis of nanocoai/nanoclaw@294ef2aee8 (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/94207645627290c9. Report an issue: GitHub.