vitessio/vitess · error

GetCellInfoNames command takes no parameter

Error message

GetCellInfoNames command takes no parameter

What it means

Returned by the GetCellInfoNames vtctl command when the caller supplies arguments. GetCellInfoNames lists all cell names stored in the topology and accepts no parameters; passing any argument is a client-side usage error.

Source

Thrown at go/vt/vtctl/cell_info.go:139

	}
	if subFlags.NArg() != 1 {
		return errors.New("the <cell> argument is required for the DeleteCellInfo command")
	}
	cell := subFlags.Arg(0)

	_, err := wr.VtctldServer().DeleteCellInfo(ctx, &vtctldatapb.DeleteCellInfoRequest{
		Name:  cell,
		Force: *force,
	})
	return err
}

func commandGetCellInfoNames(ctx context.Context, wr *wrangler.Wrangler, subFlags *pflag.FlagSet, args []string) error {
	if err := subFlags.Parse(args); err != nil {
		return err
	}
	if subFlags.NArg() != 0 {
		return errors.New("GetCellInfoNames command takes no parameter")
	}
	names, err := wr.TopoServer().GetCellInfoNames(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	wr.Logger().Printf("%v\n", strings.Join(names, "\n"))
	return nil
}

func commandGetCellInfo(ctx context.Context, wr *wrangler.Wrangler, subFlags *pflag.FlagSet, args []string) error {
	if err := subFlags.Parse(args); err != nil {
		return err
	}
	if subFlags.NArg() != 1 {
		return errors.New("the <cell> argument is required for the GetCellInfo command")
	}

	// We use a strong read, because users using this command want the

View on GitHub (pinned to 01a25a7d17)

Solutions

1. Re-run with no positional arguments: `vtctldclient GetCellInfoNames`
2. If you intended to fetch one cell's details, use `GetCellInfo <cell>` instead

Example fix

// before
vtctldclient GetCellInfoNames zone1
// after
vtctldclient GetCellInfoNames

args := flagSet.Args()
if len(args) != 0 {
    return errors.New("GetCellInfoNames command takes no parameter")
}

func takesNoArgs(args []string) bool { return len(args) == 0 }

if err := commandGetCellInfoNames(ctx, wr, subFlags, args); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "takes no parameter") {
        log.Printf("usage: GetCellInfoNames (no arguments)")
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `vtctldclient GetCellInfoNames <something>` — any extra positional token triggers the error.

Common situations: Confusing GetCellInfoNames with GetCellInfo (which does take a <cell> argument) and passing a cell name; a script appending a leftover argument.

Related errors

• the <cell> argument is required for the UpdateCellInfo comma
• the <cell> argument is required for the DeleteCellInfo comma
• the <cell> argument is required for the GetCellInfo command
• the <alias> argument is required for the AddCellsAlias comma
• the <alias> argument is required for the UpdateCellsAlias co

AI-assisted analysis of vitessio/vitess@01a25a7d17 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/469f6284b05a55fd. Report an issue: GitHub.