stablyai/orca · error · Error

Missing value for ${arg}

Error message

Missing value for ${arg}

What it means

Thrown by the readValue() helper in parseArgs (run-idle-cpu-benchmark.mjs) when a value-expecting flag is followed by nothing, or by another flag (a token starting with '--'). readValue guards against silently consuming the next flag as a value.

Source

Thrown at config/scripts/run-idle-cpu-benchmark.mjs:58

    worktrees: DEFAULT_WORKTREE_COUNT,
    lineageDepth: 0,
    agentsPerWorktree: 0,
    zustandPublications: 0,
    zustandPublicationIntervalMs: DEFAULT_ZUSTAND_PUBLICATION_INTERVAL_MS,
    skipBuild: false,
    headful: false,
    output: null,
    disableRendererAnimations: false,
    syntheticVisibleSpinners: 0,
    syntheticSpinnerAnimation: 'smooth',
    syntheticSpinnerSteps: 12
  }
  for (let index = 0; index < argv.length; index += 1) {
    const arg = argv[index]
    const readValue = () => {
      const value = argv[index + 1]
      if (!value || value.startsWith('--')) {
        throw new Error(`Missing value for ${arg}`)
      }
      index += 1
      return value
    }
    if (arg === '--') {
      continue
    } else if (arg === '--warmup-ms') {
      options.warmupMs = Number(readValue())
    } else if (arg === '--sample-ms') {
      options.sampleMs = Number(readValue())
    } else if (arg === '--interval-ms') {
      options.intervalMs = Number(readValue())
    } else if (arg === '--worktrees') {
      options.worktrees = Number(readValue())
    } else if (arg === '--lineage-depth') {
      options.lineageDepth = Number(readValue())
    } else if (arg === '--agents-per-worktree') {
      options.agentsPerWorktree = Number(readValue())

View on GitHub (pinned to 1136503c6a)

Solutions

1. Supply the missing numeric/string value immediately after the flag.
2. Re-run with --help to confirm which flags require values.
3. Quote shell variables so empty values are visible rather than dropped.

Example fix

# before
node config/scripts/run-idle-cpu-benchmark.mjs --warmup-ms --sample-ms 30000
# after
node config/scripts/run-idle-cpu-benchmark.mjs --warmup-ms 15000 --sample-ms 30000

function readValueAt(argv, index) {
  const value = argv[index + 1]
  if (!value || value.startsWith('--')) {
    throw new Error(`Missing value for ${argv[index]}`)
  }
  return value
}
// pre-scan: every value-flag must be followed by a non-flag token
const VALUE_FLAGS = new Set(['--warmup-ms','--sample-ms','--interval-ms','--worktrees','--lineage-depth','--agents-per-worktree','--zustand-publications','--zustand-publication-interval-ms','--output','--synthetic-visible-spinners','--synthetic-spinner-animation','--synthetic-spinner-steps'])
for (let i = 0; i < argv.length; i++) {
  if (VALUE_FLAGS.has(argv[i]) && (!argv[i+1] || argv[i+1].startsWith('--'))) {
    throw new Error(`Missing value for ${argv[i]}`)
  }
}

function isValueFlag(arg) { return VALUE_FLAGS.has(arg) }

try {
  options = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2))
} catch (err) {
  if (/Missing value for/.test(err.message)) {
    printUsage()
    process.exit(2)
  }
  throw err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a numeric/string flag as the last token (e.g. '--warmup-ms' with no following token), or two flags back-to-back like '--output --headful', or '--warmup-ms --sample-ms 30000'.

Common situations: Typos, copy-paste that drops a value, shell quoting that eats an argument, or assuming a flag has a default when it actually requires a value.

Related errors

• Missing value for ${arg}
• Unknown argument: ${arg}
• --boundary must be child or worker
• --trials must be a positive integer
• Unknown argument: ${arg}

AI-assisted analysis of stablyai/orca@1136503c6a (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8a46d9238211b122. Report an issue: GitHub.