nikivdev/code · warning

Specify a task name, --pid <pid>, or --all

Error message

Specify a task name, --pid <pid>, or --all

What it means

The `kill` command requires the caller to select what to kill: a task name, a PID via --pid, or everything via --all. If none of these is provided, kill_processes bails with this usage guidance instead of guessing. It is a user-input validation error, not an internal failure.

Source

Thrown at src/processes.rs:115

        format!("{}m {}s", elapsed_secs / 60, elapsed_secs % 60)
    } else {
        format!("{}h {}m", elapsed_secs / 3600, (elapsed_secs % 3600) / 60)
    }
}

/// Kill processes based on options
pub fn kill_processes(opts: KillOpts) -> Result<()> {
    let (config_path, _cfg) = tasks::load_project_config(opts.config)?;
    let canonical = config_path.canonicalize()?;

    if let Some(pid) = opts.pid {
        kill_by_pid(pid, opts.force, opts.timeout)
    } else if let Some(task) = &opts.task {
        kill_by_task(&canonical, task, opts.force, opts.timeout)
    } else if opts.all {
        kill_all_for_project(&canonical, opts.force, opts.timeout)
    } else {
        bail!("Specify a task name, --pid <pid>, or --all")
    }
}

fn kill_by_pid(pid: u32, force: bool, timeout: u64) -> Result<()> {
    let processes = running::load_running_processes()?;

    // Find the process entry to get its PGID
    let entry = processes.projects.values().flatten().find(|p| p.pid == pid);

    let pgid = entry.map(|e| e.pgid).unwrap_or(pid);
    let task_name = entry.map(|e| e.task_name.as_str()).unwrap_or("unknown");

    terminate_process_group(pgid, force, timeout)?;
    running::unregister_process(pid)?;

    println!("Killed {} (pid: {}, pgid: {})", task_name, pid, pgid);
    Ok(())
}

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

1. Pass the task name: `f kill <task>`.
2. Or target a specific process: `f kill --pid <pid>`.
3. Or kill everything for the project: `f kill --all`.
4. List current targets first with `f ps` to decide what to kill.

Example fix

// before (shell script)
f kill $TASK
// after
TASK="${TASK:?set TASK or pass an explicit kill target}"
f kill "$TASK"

// check args before invoking the CLI
let args: Vec<String> = std::env::args().skip(1).collect();
if !args.iter().any(|a| a == "--all" || a == "--pid") && args.len() < 2 {
    eprintln!("usage: f kill <task> | --pid <pid> | --all");
    std::process::exit(2);
}

match kill_processes(opts) {
    Ok(()) => (),
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("Specify a task name") => {
        eprintln!("{e}");
        std::process::exit(2); // usage error, not a runtime failure
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
}

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking `f kill` (or calling kill_processes with opts.task=None, opts.pid=None, opts.all=false) — i.e., no targeting flag at all on the command line.

Common situations: Typing `f kill` with no arguments, forgetting that task name must be positional, or scripting the command with an empty variable where the task name should be.

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• No command specified
• Specify a todo id or use --all to fix all open review todos
• No prompt provided. Usage: f agents run {} "your prompt here
• sessions requires a specific provider (claude or codex)
• continue requires a specific provider (claude or codex)

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5897ef855e02de8a. Report an issue: GitHub.