What causes "Unknown error while parsing arguments" in quasarframework/quasar?

Run the command with `--help` to see the exact supported options for that subcommand

ERR_PARSE_ARGS_UNKNOWN_OPTION

ERR_PARSE_ARGS_UNKNOWN_OPTION

Error message

Unknown error while parsing arguments

What it means

app-vite's get-argv wraps Node's util.parseArgs. When parsing CLI flags throws, the wrapper returns a sentinel argv whose __warn() function prints either the parseArgs message (for ERR_PARSE_ARGS_UNKNOWN_OPTION, i.e. an unrecognized option) or this generic fallback, then exits 1. It exists so callers can uniformly handle bad CLI input via `if (argv.help)`-style checks.

Source

Thrown at app-vite/lib/utils/get-argv.js:20

import { warn } from './logger.js'

export function getArgv(options, { strict = true } = {}) {
  try {
    const { values, positionals } = parseArgs({
      options,
      strict,
      allowPositionals: true
    })

    return { ...values, _: positionals }
  } catch (err) {
    return {
      help: true,
      _: [],

      // Should be handled if (argv.help) in the caller
      __warn() {
        warn(
          err?.code === 'ERR_PARSE_ARGS_UNKNOWN_OPTION'
            ? err.message
            : 'Unknown error while parsing arguments'
        )
        warn()
        process.exit(1)
      }
    }
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 4841521b5f)

Solutions

Run the command with `--help` to see the exact supported options for that subcommand
Fix or remove the unrecognized flag; check spelling (`--port` not `--pot`)
Check the Quasar docs for the current option names — flags change between major versions
Quote values containing spaces or special characters so they don't parse as extra options

Example fix

// before
quasar dev --pot 9000
// after
quasar dev --port 9000

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// pre-check flags against the command's help output before scripting it
const { execSync } = require('node:child_process')
const help = execSync('quasar dev --help').toString()
const flag = '--port'
if (!help.includes(flag)) {
  throw new Error(`Flag ${flag} is not supported by 'quasar dev'`)
}

Prevention

Always check `quasar <cmd> --help` before using a flag you haven't used recently
Don't mix flags between subcommands or between Quasar packages (app-vite vs cli vs icongenie)
Quote argument values containing spaces or special characters
Pin and read the docs for your installed Quasar version; option names change between majors

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking any `quasar`/app-vite dev-mode command with an option that is not registered in that command's parseArgs configuration — e.g. a typo like `--pot 9000` instead of `--port 9000`, or an unknown shorthand — triggers ERR_PARSE_ARGS_UNKNOWN_OPTION which is reported through this handler; the generic message appears for any other parse failure.

Common situations: Typos in long flags; using an option from a different command (e.g. passing an icongenie-only flag to `quasar dev`); copy-pasted flags from blog posts for older Quasar versions; unquoted values that split into extra tokens.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of quasarframework/quasar@4841521b5f (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d400ce1a4e62d1c8. Report an issue: GitHub.