stablyai/orca · error · Error

--trials must be a positive integer

Error message

--trials must be a positive integer

What it means

The --trials value fails Number.isInteger() or is less than 1. The default is DEFAULT_TRIALS (3), so this only fires when --trials is explicitly provided with an invalid value. Floats, zero, negatives, NaN, and non-numeric strings all fail.

Source

Thrown at config/scripts/macos-computer-helper-owner-loss-benchmark.mjs:409

  const options = { expect: '', trials: DEFAULT_TRIALS, output: '' }
  for (let index = 0; index < argv.length; index += 1) {
    const arg = argv[index]
    const value = argv[index + 1]
    if (arg === '--expect' || arg === '--trials' || arg === '--output') {
      if (!value) {
        throw new Error(`Missing value for ${arg}`)
      }
      options[arg.slice(2)] = arg === '--trials' ? Number(value) : value
      index += 1
    } else {
      throw new Error(`Unknown argument: ${arg}`)
    }
  }
  if (!['retained', 'reaped'].includes(options.expect)) {
    throw new Error('--expect must be retained or reaped')
  }
  if (!Number.isInteger(options.trials) || options.trials < 1) {
    throw new Error('--trials must be a positive integer')
  }
  return options
}

function electronPath() {
  const electronModulePath = fileURLToPath(import.meta.resolve('electron'))
  return execFileSync(
    process.execPath,
    ['-e', `process.stdout.write(require(${JSON.stringify(electronModulePath)}))`],
    { encoding: 'utf8' }
  )
}

function buildArtifacts() {
  execFileSync('pnpm', ['exec', 'electron-vite', 'build'], {
    cwd: repoRoot,
    stdio: 'inherit'
  })

View on GitHub (pinned to 1136503c6a)

Solutions

1. Pass a positive integer: `--trials 3`
2. If computing trials programmatically, use Math.floor and clamp to >= 1 before passing

Example fix

// before
node benchmark.mjs --expect reaped --trials 2.5

// after
node benchmark.mjs --expect reaped --trials 3

// Validate --trials before parsing
const trialsIndex = argv.indexOf('--trials')
if (trialsIndex !== -1) {
  const n = Number(argv[trialsIndex + 1])
  if (!Number.isInteger(n) || n < 1) {
    throw new Error(`--trials must be a positive integer, got: ${argv[trialsIndex + 1]}`)
  }
}

function isPositiveInteger(value) {
  return Number.isInteger(value) && value >= 1
}

When it happens

Trigger: options.trials is not a positive integer at line 408. Number('2.5') = 2.5 (not integer), Number('0') = 0 (< 1), Number('abc') = NaN (not finite → not integer), Number('-1') = -1 (< 1).

Common situations: Passing a float like --trials 2.5; passing zero or negative; passing a non-numeric string; shell arithmetic producing a float.

Related errors

• --higher-is-better requires a metric key
• Usage: node config/scripts/compare-benchmark-artifacts.mjs -
• Missing value for ${arg}
• Unknown argument: ${arg}
• --boundary must be child or worker

AI-assisted analysis of stablyai/orca@1136503c6a (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d5a42d3590e153e6. Report an issue: GitHub.