stablyai/orca · error · Error

Unknown argument: ${arg}

Error message

Unknown argument: ${arg}

What it means

Thrown by parseArgs in run-idle-cpu-benchmark.mjs when a token is not '--', not a recognized flag, and not a value being consumed. The parser has no positional arguments, so any unrecognized '--foo' or stray token is rejected.

Source

Thrown at config/scripts/run-idle-cpu-benchmark.mjs:99

    } else if (arg === '--output') {
      options.output = readValue()
    } else if (arg === '--skip-build') {
      options.skipBuild = true
    } else if (arg === '--headful') {
      options.headful = true
    } else if (arg === '--disable-renderer-animations') {
      options.disableRendererAnimations = true
    } else if (arg === '--synthetic-visible-spinners') {
      options.syntheticVisibleSpinners = Number(readValue())
    } else if (arg === '--synthetic-spinner-animation') {
      options.syntheticSpinnerAnimation = readValue()
    } else if (arg === '--synthetic-spinner-steps') {
      options.syntheticSpinnerSteps = Number(readValue())
    } else if (arg === '--help') {
      printUsage()
      process.exit(0)
    } else {
      throw new Error(`Unknown argument: ${arg}`)
    }
  }
  for (const key of [
    'warmupMs',
    'sampleMs',
    'intervalMs',
    'worktrees',
    'lineageDepth',
    'agentsPerWorktree',
    'zustandPublications',
    'zustandPublicationIntervalMs',
    'syntheticVisibleSpinners',
    'syntheticSpinnerSteps'
  ]) {
    if (!Number.isFinite(options[key]) || options[key] < 0) {
      throw new Error(`Invalid --${key}: ${options[key]}`)
    }
  }

View on GitHub (pinned to 1136503c6a)

Solutions

1. Run --help to list the accepted flags.
2. Correct the typo / use the canonical flag name.
3. Remove positional arguments; the script takes only flags.

Example fix

# before
node config/scripts/run-idle-cpu-benchmark.mjs --agents 4
# after
node config/scripts/run-idle-cpu-benchmark.mjs --agents-per-worktree 4

const KNOWN_FLAGS = new Set(['--warmup-ms','--sample-ms','--interval-ms','--worktrees','--lineage-depth','--agents-per-worktree','--zustand-publications','--zustand-publication-interval-ms','--output','--skip-build','--headful','--disable-renderer-animations','--synthetic-visible-spinners','--synthetic-spinner-animation','--synthetic-spinner-steps','--help'])
for (const arg of argv) {
  if (arg.startsWith('--') && arg !== '--' && !KNOWN_FLAGS.has(arg)) {
    throw new Error(`Unknown argument: ${arg}. Run --help.`)
  }
}

function isKnownFlag(arg) { return KNOWN_FLAGS.has(arg) || arg === '--' }

try {
  options = parseArgs(argv)
} catch (err) {
  if (/Unknown argument/.test(err.message)) { printUsage(); process.exit(2) }
  throw err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a flag not in the known set (e.g. --agents, --pubs, --head), a typo'd flag, or a positional argument the script does not accept.

Common situations: Misspelled flag, flags renamed across versions, assuming a shorthand exists, pasting options from a different tool.

Related errors

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

AI-assisted analysis of stablyai/orca@1136503c6a (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/adfd33b3f5c819a8. Report an issue: GitHub.