phacility/phabricator · error · PhutilArgumentUsageException

Configuration file does not specify any servers. This…

Error message

Configuration file does not specify any servers. This service will not be able to interact with the outside world if it does not listen on any ports. You must specify at least one "%s" server and at least one "%s" server.

What it means

Thrown after the per-server loop if the 'servers' list in the Aphlict config is empty (or the key holds an empty array). With no listeners at all the server cannot talk to browsers or the web tier, so this is rejected up front rather than starting a useless daemon.

Solutions

Add at least one {"type": "client", ...} server (websocket listener for browsers) and one {"type": "admin", ...} server (receives messages from Phabricator)
Start from the stock example config in conf/ and adapt ports/paths

Example fix

// before
{"pidfile": "/var/run/aphlict.pid", "servers": []}
// after
{"pidfile": "/var/run/aphlict.pid", "servers": [
  {"type": "client", "port": 22280},
  {"type": "admin",  "port": 22281}
]}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (empty($config['servers'])) {
  throw new InvalidArgumentException('Aphlict config needs at least one client and one admin server');
}

Prevention

Start from the shipped example config which already has both required servers
In templated deployments, assert the servers list is non-empty before render

When it happens

Trigger: "servers" is present but [] — for example a minimal config that only sets pidfile/logs, or a templating bug that renders an empty loop.

Common situations: Config generated from a template where the servers block is conditionally empty; someone strips servers while debugging and forgets to restore them.

Understand the failure class

Background: "X is required", "must be set", "cannot be empty": the missing-required-config error family, from Vertex AI project/location to WeChat keys — this error's family across 18 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of phacility/phabricator@5720a38cfe (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ea3a6f43510e1b2f. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/applications/aphlict/management/PhabricatorAphlictManagementWorkflow.php:169

      $ssl_chain = idx($server, 'ssl.chain');
      if ($ssl_chain && (!$ssl_key && !$ssl_cert)) {
        throw new PhutilArgumentUsageException(
          pht(
            'A specified server (at index "%s", on port "%s") specifies '.
            'a value for "%s", but no value for "%s" or "%s". Servers '.
            'should only provide an SSL chain if they also provide an SSL '.
            'key and SSL certificate.',
            $index,
            $port,
            'ssl.chain',
            'ssl.key',
            'ssl.cert'));
      }
    }

    if (!$servers) {
      throw new PhutilArgumentUsageException(
        pht(
          'Configuration file does not specify any servers. This service '.
          'will not be able to interact with the outside world if it does '.
          'not listen on any ports. You must specify at least one "%s" '.
          'server and at least one "%s" server.',
          'admin',
          'client'));
    }

    if (!$has_client) {
      throw new PhutilArgumentUsageException(
        pht(
          'Configuration file does not specify any client servers. This '.
          'service will be unable to transmit any notifications without a '.
          'client server. You must specify at least one server with '.
          'type "%s".',
          'client'));
    }

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