sxyazi/yazi · error

invalid 'args' in SearchOpt

Error message

invalid 'args' in SearchOpt

What it means

In the same SearchOpt conversion (yazi-core/src/mgr/search.rs:31), the `args` string is split with the Unix shell splitter `yazi_shared::shell::unix::split`. If the string cannot be split (unbalanced quotes or other shell-syntax errors), the conversion bails because the search command arguments are unusable.

Source

Thrown at yazi-core/src/mgr/search.rs:31

	pub args:    Vec<String>,
	pub r#in:    Option<UrlBuf>,
}

impl_data_any!(SearchOpt);

impl TryFrom<ActionCow> for SearchOpt {
	type Error = anyhow::Error;

	fn try_from(mut a: ActionCow) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
		let r#in = a.take::<UrlBuf>("in").ok();
		if let Some(u) = &r#in
			&& (!u.is_absolute() || u.is_search())
		{
			bail!("invalid 'in' in SearchOpt");
		}

		let Ok(args) = yazi_shared::shell::unix::split(a.str("args"), false) else {
			bail!("invalid 'args' in SearchOpt");
		};

		Ok(Self {
			via: a.str("via").parse()?,
			subject: a.take_first().unwrap_or_default(),
			args: args.0,
			r#in,
		})
	}
}

// --- Via
#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Deserialize, EnumString, Eq, IntoStaticStr, PartialEq)]
#[serde(rename_all = "kebab-case")]
#[strum(serialize_all = "kebab-case")]
pub enum SearchVia {
	Rg,
	Rga,

View on GitHub (pinned to 5f901b886b)

Solutions

1. Fix the quoting in the `args` string so it is valid shell syntax (balanced quotes).
2. Escape dynamic values before interpolating them into args, or pass them as separate structured arguments.
3. Validate the args string with the shell splitter before dispatching the action.

Example fix

// before
args = "--glob '*.log"   // unbalanced quote
// after
args = "--glob '*.log'"

// reuse the same splitter the library uses, before dispatch
match yazi_shared::shell::unix::split(&args_str, false) {
    Ok(_) => { /* safe to dispatch search with args */ }
    Err(e) => eprintln!("bad args: {e}"),
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing an `args` value containing unbalanced quotes or otherwise invalid shell syntax, e.g. `args = '"unterminated` , so `split(a.str("args"), false)` returns Err.

Common situations: Hand-edited yazi.toml search settings with a stray quote, dynamically composed args where a filename containing quotes is interpolated unescaped.

Related errors

• invalid 'in' in SearchOpt
• plugin name cannot be empty
• Invalid 'query' in FindDoOpt
• --bin-dir is only valid for the install task
• the dist task requires --target

AI-assisted analysis of sxyazi/yazi@5f901b886b (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/18a2942682057f03. Report an issue: GitHub.