What causes "recipe '{}' failed with status {}" in nikivdev/code?

Read the script output printed just before the error to see the underlying failure and fix it

recipe '{}' failed with status {}

Error message

recipe '{}' failed with status {}

What it means

`run_recipe` bails when a shell-based recipe (`RecipeRunner` shell variant) finishes with a non-zero exit status. The error is intentional pass-through of the recipe's own failure so the CLI exit code reflects the script's outcome.

Source

Thrown at src/recipe.rs:158

            let shell_bin = resolve_shell_bin(shell);
            let shell_cmd = command.trim();
            println!("engine: shell");
            println!("shell: {}", shell_bin);
            println!("cmd: {}", shell_cmd);

            if opts.dry_run {
                return Ok(());
            }

            let status = Command::new(&shell_bin)
                .arg("-lc")
                .arg(shell_cmd)
                .current_dir(&cwd)
                .status()
                .with_context(|| format!("failed to run recipe command via {}", shell_bin))?;

            if !status.success() {
                bail!("recipe '{}' failed with status {}", recipe.id, status);
            }
        }
        RecipeRunner::MoonbitFile => {
            println!("engine: moonbit");
            println!("cmd: moon run {}", recipe.path.display());

            if opts.dry_run {
                return Ok(());
            }

            let status = Command::new("moon")
                .arg("run")
                .arg(&recipe.path)
                .current_dir(&cwd)
                .status()
                .with_context(|| format!("failed to run moon recipe {}", recipe.path.display()))?;

            if !status.success() {

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

Read the script output printed just before the error to see the underlying failure and fix it
Run the recipe's command manually in the same cwd to reproduce and debug
Install or PATH-enable the tools the recipe script depends on
Pass/verify the correct cwd when invoking run_recipe so relative paths resolve
Set the recipe to use an explicit shell (e.g. bash) if it uses bash-only syntax

Example fix

// before: recipe command `npm test` fails
Error: recipe 'ci-checks' failed with status exit status: 1
// after
$ npm test   # run manually; a test in src/app.spec.ts fails
$ fix test... && f recipe run ci-checks

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// preflight: verify the underlying command works before running the recipe
// (adjust to the recipe's command)
if !std::process::Command::new("npm").arg("--version").status().map_or(false, |s| s.success()) {
    eprintln!("npm not available; recipe will fail");
}

Try / catch

match run_recipe(opts) {
    Ok(()) => {},
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("failed with status") => {
        eprintln!("recipe script failed; read its output above and fix the underlying command");
        std::process::exit(1); // preserve failure semantics
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
}

Prevention

Run recipe scripts manually once before wiring them into automation
Ensure all tools the script uses are installed and on PATH
Verify the recipe's working directory (cwd) contains the files it expects
Pin the shell in the recipe (bash vs sh) to avoid syntax surprises

When it happens

Trigger: Running a recipe whose shell command (executed via the configured shell_bin with cwd = resolved working dir) exits non-zero: build failures, failing tests, missing binaries inside the script, script syntax errors.

Common situations: Recipe scripts assuming tools that aren't installed or not on PATH; running the recipe from the wrong working directory so relative paths break; test/lint failures in the underlying project; shell differences (script written for bash run under sh).

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f48d613999810b81. Report an issue: GitHub.