What causes "${flag} requires a non-empty glob" in pbakaus/impeccable?

Supply a real glob, e.g. `--file "src/widget.js"`.

${flag} requires a non-empty glob

Error message

${flag} requires a non-empty glob

What it means

requireGlob() trims its input and rejects an empty result. It guards the `--file=` / `--files=` forms (and the space-separated `--file` form) against an empty value. Historically an empty glob was dropped by filter(Boolean), so `--file=` reported success while storing an entry scoped to no files — effectively a silent project-wide suppression. The guard makes that an explicit error.

Source

Thrown at plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-admin.mjs:634

}

function addIgnoreFile(cwd, args) {
  const parsed = parseIgnoreFileArgs(args);
  const glob = parsed.glob;
  if (!glob) throw new Error(`Pass a glob, e.g. ${IMPECCABLE_COMMAND} hooks ignore-file "src/legacy/**"`);
  const config = mergeDetectorConfig(readRawDetectorConfig(cwd, { local: parsed.local }));
  if (!config.ignoreFiles.includes(glob)) config.ignoreFiles.push(glob);
  const target = writeDetectorConfig(cwd, config, { local: parsed.local });
  const scope = parsed.local ? 'local detector.ignoreFiles' : 'shared detector.ignoreFiles';
  return `Added "${glob}" to ${scope} (${path.relative(cwd, target) || target}). Current: ${config.ignoreFiles.join(', ')}`;
}

// An empty glob used to be dropped by filter(Boolean), so `--file=` reported
// success and wrote an entry with no files: the user asked to scope a rule to one
// file and silently got the project-wide suppression instead. Refuse it.
function requireGlob(raw, flag) {
  const glob = String(raw ?? '').trim();
  if (!glob) throw new Error(`${flag} requires a non-empty glob`);
  // A following flag is not a glob. `--file --reason "why"` consumed `--reason`
  // as the scope and left the reason text to fold into the value, storing
  // value="* why" files=["--reason"] and reporting success. Same silent-no-op
  // class as an unknown flag folding into the value; refuse it the same way.
  if (glob.startsWith('--')) throw new Error(`${flag} requires a glob, got the flag ${glob}`);
  return glob;
}

function parseIgnoreValueArgs(args) {
  const positionals = [];
  const files = [];
  let shared = false;
  let local = false;
  let reason = '';

  for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
    const arg = String(args[i] || '');
    if (arg === '--shared') {

View on GitHub (pinned to d14711ae3d)

Solutions

Supply a real glob, e.g. `--file "src/widget.js"`.
If the glob comes from a variable, guard the whole call so the flag is omitted when the variable is empty rather than passed empty.

Example fix

# before
impeccable hooks ignore-value r v --file=

# after
impeccable hooks ignore-value r v --file "src/widget.js"

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

function requireGlob(raw, flag) {
  const glob = String(raw ?? '').trim();
  if (!glob) throw new Error(`${flag} requires a non-empty glob`);
  return glob;
}

Type guard

function isNonEmptyGlob(raw) {
  return typeof raw === 'string' && raw.trim() !== '';
}

Prevention

Never pass an empty --file=/--files= value; guard variables before substitution.
When templating, omit the --file flag entirely if its value is empty rather than passing --file=.

When it happens

Trigger: Passing `--file=` or `--files=` with nothing after the equals sign; passing `--file ""` (an explicitly empty quoted token).

Common situations: A shell variable that expanded to empty feeding `--file="$VAR"`; templated commands where the glob is conditionally empty.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pbakaus/impeccable@d14711ae3d (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4e9eb8ee42eb8bc4. Report an issue: GitHub.