pypa/pip · error · CommandError

Too many arguments

Error message

Too many arguments

What it means

Raised as CommandError by CacheCommand.get_cache_dir (cache.py:89) when `pip cache dir` is given any positional arguments. The dir subcommand (lines 87-91) takes no arguments: it simply prints options.cache_dir. The `if args:` guard at line 88 rejects extra tokens. The broader CacheCommand.run (lines 61-85) routes args[0] as the action and passes the remainder to the handler, so any token after `dir` triggers this.

Solutions

1. Run `pip cache dir` with no arguments to print the cache directory.
2. To use a custom cache directory, set it via the global `--cache-dir <dir>` option before the subcommand.

Example fix

# before
pip cache dir /tmp/mypipcache
# after
pip --cache-dir /tmp/mypipcache cache dir

# Disallow extra positional args for `pip cache dir`.
def validate_cache_dir_args(extra_args):
    if extra_args:
        raise ValueError("'pip cache dir' takes no arguments; use --cache-dir <dir> globally to change location")
    return True

When it happens

Trigger: `pip cache dir extra`, `pip cache dir /some/path`.

Common situations: Assuming `pip cache dir <dir>` sets or inspects a specific cache directory (it does not); copy-pasting a command with a stray token.

Related errors

• --refresh-package option requires 1 argument.
• --build-constraint cannot be used with --no-build-isolation.
• Can not use any platform or abi specific options unless…
• Cannot combine '--path' with '--user' or '--local'
• Cannot use '--only-dependencies' in combination with

AI-assisted analysis of pypa/pip@f399c37189 (2026-08-08). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7b15fdf2ab57dc6d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/pip/_internal/commands/cache.py:89

                "Need an action (%s) to perform.",
                ", ".join(sorted(handler_map)),
            )
            return ERROR

        action = args[0]

        # Error handling happens here, not in the action-handlers.
        try:
            handler_map[action](options, args[1:])
        except PipError as e:
            logger.error(e.args[0])
            return ERROR

        return SUCCESS

    def get_cache_dir(self, options: Values, args: list[str]) -> None:
        if args:
            raise CommandError("Too many arguments")

        logger.info(options.cache_dir)

    def get_cache_info(self, options: Values, args: list[str]) -> None:
        if args:
            raise CommandError("Too many arguments")

        num_http_files = len(self._find_http_files(options))
        num_packages = len(self._find_wheels(options, "*"))

        http_cache_location = self._cache_dir(options, "http-v2")
        old_http_cache_location = self._cache_dir(options, "http")
        wheels_cache_location = self._cache_dir(options, "wheels")
        http_cache_size = filesystem.format_size(
            filesystem.directory_size(http_cache_location)
            + filesystem.directory_size(old_http_cache_location)
        )
        wheels_cache_size = filesystem.format_directory_size(wheels_cache_location)

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