paperclipai/paperclip · error · Error

Invalid --by mode ' '. Expected one of: auto, id, prefix.

Error message

Invalid --by mode '${opts.by}'. Expected one of: auto, id, prefix.

What it means

The company delete --by option, lowercased and trimmed, is not one of auto/id/prefix, so the selector resolution mode is unknown.

Solutions

1. Pass --by with one of: auto, id, prefix.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/src/commands/client/company.ts:1933 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@120ae5428f (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d4d161f16ad61768. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cli/src/commands/client/company.ts:1933

    company
      .command("delete")
      .description("Delete a company by ID or shortname/prefix (destructive)")
      .argument("<selector>", "Company ID or issue prefix (for example PAP)")
      .option(
        "--by <mode>",
        "Selector mode: auto | id | prefix",
        "auto",
      )
      .option("--yes", "Required safety flag to confirm destructive action", false)
      .option(
        "--confirm <value>",
        "Required safety value: target company ID or shortname/prefix",
      )
      .action(async (selector: string, opts: CompanyDeleteOptions) => {
        try {
          const by = (opts.by ?? "auto").trim().toLowerCase() as CompanyDeleteSelectorMode;
          if (!["auto", "id", "prefix"].includes(by)) {
            throw new Error(`Invalid --by mode '${opts.by}'. Expected one of: auto, id, prefix.`);
          }

          const ctx = resolveCommandContext(opts);
          const normalizedSelector = normalizeSelector(selector);
          assertDeleteFlags(opts);

          let target: Company | null = null;
          const shouldTryIdLookup = by === "id" || (by === "auto" && isUuidLike(normalizedSelector));
          if (shouldTryIdLookup) {
            const byId = await ctx.api.get<Company>(apiPath`/api/companies/${normalizedSelector}`, { ignoreNotFound: true });
            if (byId) {
              target = byId;
            } else if (by === "id") {
              throw new Error(`No company found by ID '${normalizedSelector}'.`);
            }
          }

          if (!target && ctx.companyId) {

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