vxcontrol/pentagi · error

adviser handler is required

Error message

adviser handler is required

What it means

GetAssistantExecutor requires all agent handler fields of AssistantExecutorConfig to be non-nil, starting with Adviser. The Adviser handler backs the LLM 'advise' tool used by the assistant executor; without it the executor would panic or fail at call time, so construction fails fast with this error.

Source

Thrown at backend/pkg/tools/tools.go:818

		userID:      fte.userID,
		flowID:      fte.flowID,
		taskID:      cfg.TaskID,
		subtaskID:   cfg.SubtaskID,
		mlp:         fte.mlp,
		tclp:        fte.tclp,
		vslp:        fte.vslp,
		db:          fte.db,
		store:       fte.store,
		definitions: cfg.Definitions,
		handlers:    cfg.Handlers,
		barriers:    barriers,
		summarizer:  cfg.Summarizer,
	}, nil
}

func (fte *flowToolsExecutor) GetAssistantExecutor(cfg AssistantExecutorConfig) (ContextToolsExecutor, error) {
	if cfg.Adviser == nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("adviser handler is required")
	}

	if cfg.Coder == nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("coder handler is required")
	}

	if cfg.Installer == nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("installer handler is required")
	}

	if cfg.Memorist == nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("memorist handler is required")
	}

	if cfg.Pentester == nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("pentester handler is required")
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to ea665308ba)

Solutions

1. Supply a non-nil Adviser handler in AssistantExecutorConfig before calling GetAssistantExecutor.
2. Verify the handler-construction function that builds Adviser is actually called and its error checked.
3. Check upstream config (env/DB prompt settings) that gates whether the adviser handler is created.

Example fix

// before
executor, err := fte.GetAssistantExecutor(AssistantExecutorConfig{
  Coder: coder,
}) // Adviser nil
// after
executor, err := fte.GetAssistantExecutor(AssistantExecutorConfig{
  Adviser: adviser,
  Coder:   coder,
})

if cfg.Adviser == nil || cfg.Coder == nil || cfg.Installer == nil || cfg.Memorist == nil || cfg.Pentester == nil || cfg.Searcher == nil {
    return errors.New("assistant executor config incomplete")
}

func validAssistantConfig(cfg tools.AssistantExecutorConfig) bool {
    return cfg.Adviser != nil
}

executor, err := fte.GetAssistantExecutor(cfg)
if err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "handler is required") {
        // log which fields were nil; fail fast before agent start
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling GetAssistantExecutor with a struct literal or a programmatically built AssistantExecutorConfig whose Adviser field is nil — e.g. skipping Adviser when wiring only a subset of agent handlers.

Common situations: Partial wiring of handlers in provider setup code; a config struct built conditionally where the Adviser assignment is skipped; copy-pasting an executor config from a path that does not supply Adviser.

Related errors

• coder handler is required
• installer handler is required
• memorist handler is required
• pentester handler is required
• searcher handler is required

AI-assisted analysis of vxcontrol/pentagi@ea665308ba (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a5da6e032899674d. Report an issue: GitHub.