Unknown ignores action: {action_arg}. Run "impeccable ignore

Error message

Unknown ignores action: {action_arg}. Run "impeccable ignores --help".

What it means

The `impeccable ignores` subcommand dispatches on its first argument via action_for(). If the argument is not --help/-h and does not map to a known action (list, add-rule, add-file, add-value, remove-rule, remove-file, remove-value, clear), run() prints "Unknown ignores action: <arg>. Run \"impeccable ignores --help\"." to stderr and returns exit code 1.

Source

Thrown at crates/detect/src/ignores.rs:539

        }
    ))
}

/// JS: ignores.mjs#run (with cli.js's error handling folded in).
pub fn run(args: &[String], io: &mut Io) -> i32 {
    let cwd = io.cwd.to_string_lossy().into_owned();
    let action_arg = args.first().map(String::as_str).unwrap_or("list");
    let action_arg = if action_arg.is_empty() {
        "list"
    } else {
        action_arg
    };
    if action_arg == "--help" || action_arg == "-h" {
        io.out(USAGE);
        return 0;
    }
    let Some(action) = action_for(action_arg) else {
        io.err(&format!(
            "Unknown ignores action: {action_arg}. Run \"impeccable ignores --help\".\n"
        ));
        return 1;
    };
    let rest: Vec<String> = args.get(1..).unwrap_or(&[]).to_vec();
    let out = match action {
        "list" => Ok(list(&cwd)),
        "add-rule" => add_rule(&cwd, &rest),
        "add-file" => add_file(&cwd, &rest),
        "add-value" => add_value(&cwd, &rest),
        "remove-rule" => remove_rule(&cwd, &rest),
        "remove-file" => remove_file(&cwd, &rest),
        "remove-value" => remove_value(&cwd, &rest),
        _ => clear(&cwd, &rest),
    };
    match out {
        Ok(text) => {
            if !text.is_empty() {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2bc2879276)

Solutions

Run `impeccable ignores --help` to list valid actions and re-issue with the exact action name
Use the correct compound action names: list, add-rule, add-file, add-value, remove-rule, remove-file, remove-value, clear
Check for typos — actions are hyphenated lowercase verbs, e.g. `add-rule` not `addRule` or `rule`

Example fix

// before
$ impeccable ignores remove my-rule
Unknown ignores action: remove. Run "impeccable ignores --help".

// after
$ impeccable ignores remove-rule my-rule

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const VALID = ['list','add-rule','add-file','add-value','remove-rule','remove-file','remove-value','clear'];
if (!VALID.includes(actionArg)) {
  throw new Error(`unknown ignores action: ${actionArg}`);
}

Try / catch

// Exit code 1 + 'Unknown ignores action' on stderr means bad verb
const res = spawnSync('impeccable', ['ignores', ...args]);
if (res.status !== 0 && res.stderr.toString().startsWith('Unknown ignores action')) {
  console.error('fix the action name; run: impeccable ignores --help');
}

Prevention

Always check `impeccable ignores --help` before scripting new invocations
Use the exact hyphenated action names (add-rule, remove-value, ...)
Never pass a rule/file/value in the action position

When it happens

Trigger: Running `impeccable ignores <arg>` where <arg> is any unrecognized action name — e.g. a typo like `remove`, `add`, or a file path passed in place of the action.

Common situations: Typing `impeccable ignores remove rule-x` instead of `remove-rule`; forgetting the action argument entirely and passing a rule/file directly; guessing action names instead of consulting `impeccable ignores --help`; scripts written against an older CLI surface with different action names.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Unknown argument", "Invalid value", and "must be one of": invalid CLI argument errors explained — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pbakaus/impeccable@2bc2879276 (2026-09-08). Data as JSON: /api/errors/33990497aba4ae02. Report an issue: GitHub.