What causes "no previous task found for this project" in nikivdev/code?

Run the desired task normally once — it will be recorded and rerun will then work.

no previous task found for this project

Error message

no previous task found for this project

What it means

The rerun command re-executes the most recent task record saved for the current project directory; when history::load_last_record_for_project returns None there is nothing to replay, so rerun bails. It means the project simply has no recorded task history yet.

Source

Thrown at src/main.rs:859

        | Some(Commands::Publish(_))
        | Some(Commands::Clone(_))
        | Some(Commands::TaskShortcut(_))
        | Some(Commands::Agents(_))
        | Some(Commands::Hive(_)) => StartupPolicy::SECRETS_ONLY,
        Some(Commands::Undo(_)) => StartupPolicy::NONE,
    }
}

fn rerun(opts: RerunOpts) -> Result<()> {
    let project_root = if opts.config.is_absolute() {
        opts.config.parent().unwrap_or(Path::new(".")).to_path_buf()
    } else {
        std::env::current_dir().unwrap_or_else(|_| Path::new(".").to_path_buf())
    };

    let record = history::load_last_record_for_project(&project_root)?;
    let Some(rec) = record else {
        bail!("no previous task found for this project");
    };

    // Parse user_input to extract task name and args (respecting shell quoting)
    let parts = shell_words::split(&rec.user_input).unwrap_or_else(|_| vec![rec.task_name.clone()]);
    let task_name = parts.first().cloned().unwrap_or(rec.task_name.clone());
    let args: Vec<String> = parts.into_iter().skip(1).collect();

    println!("Re-running: {}", rec.user_input);

    tasks::run(TaskRunOpts {
        config: opts.config,
        delegate_to_hub: false,
        hub_host: IpAddr::from([127, 0, 0, 1]),
        hub_port: 9050,
        name: task_name,
        args,
    })
}

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

Run the desired task normally once — it will be recorded and rerun will then work.
Use the flag/argument to rerun against the correct project root where history exists.
Check where the history file is stored and confirm it was not deleted or moved.

Example fix

# before
flow rerun                 # in a fresh repo -> no previous task
# after
flow build && flow test    # run tasks first
flow rerun                 # now replays the last one

Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Validate before calling

fn has_history(project_root: &Path) -> bool {
    history::load_last_record_for_project(project_root)
        .map(|r| r.is_some())
        .unwrap_or(false)
}
if !has_history(&project_root) {
    eprintln!("no previous task recorded; run a task first");
    return;
}

Type guard

fn previous_task_known(rec: Option<history::Record>) -> bool {
    rec.is_some()
}

Try / catch

match rerun(opts) {
    Err(e) if e.to_string() == "no previous task found for this project" => {
        eprintln!("Nothing to rerun. Run a task first, e.g. `flow build`");
        std::process::exit(1);
    }
    other => other?,
}

Prevention

Run the task normally at least once before relying on rerun.
Run rerun from the same project root where the original task executed.
Back up the history store if it matters to your workflow.

When it happens

Trigger: Running `flow rerun` (without a project flag resolving to another directory) in a directory where no task was ever run, or after the history store was cleared/reset.

Common situations: Fresh clone of a repo without the local history file; running in a different subdirectory than where previous tasks ran (project root mismatch); deleting ~/.local/share-style history data.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/eb327976bbc881c7. Report an issue: GitHub.