wavetermdev/waveterm · error

--tail can only be used with the log path type

Error message

--tail can only be used with the log path type

What it means

The --tail flag streams the log file, so it is only meaningful with the 'log' path type. wavepathRun rejects any combination of --tail with 'config' or 'data'. This is pure client-side flag validation.

Source

Thrown at cmd/wsh/cmd/wshcmd-wavepath.go:53

	if len(args) == 0 {
		OutputHelpMessage(cmd)
		return fmt.Errorf("no arguments. wsh wavepath requires a type argument (config, data, or log)")
	}
	if len(args) > 1 {
		OutputHelpMessage(cmd)
		return fmt.Errorf("too many arguments. wsh wavepath requires exactly one argument")
	}

	pathType := args[0]
	if pathType != "config" && pathType != "data" && pathType != "log" {
		OutputHelpMessage(cmd)
		return fmt.Errorf("invalid path type %q. must be one of: config, data, log", pathType)
	}

	tail, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("tail")
	if tail && pathType != "log" {
		return fmt.Errorf("--tail can only be used with the log path type")
	}

	open, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("open")
	openExternal, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("open-external")

	tabId := getTabIdFromEnv()
	if tabId == "" {
		return fmt.Errorf("no WAVETERM_TABID env var set")
	}

	path, err := wshclient.PathCommand(RpcClient, wshrpc.PathCommandData{
		PathType:     pathType,
		Open:         open,
		OpenExternal: openExternal,
		TabId:        tabId,
	}, nil)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("getting path: %w", err)

View on GitHub (pinned to a4447c1563)

Solutions

1. Use --tail only with `wsh wavepath log`.
2. Remove --tail when requesting the config or data path.
3. Split the script: print the path without --tail, tail separately with `wsh wavepath log --tail`.

Example fix

// before
wsh wavepath config --tail
// after
wsh wavepath config
wsh wavepath log --tail

[ "$pathType" = "log" ] || unset tailFlag  # only pass --tail for log

func tailAllowed(pathType string) bool { return pathType == "log" }

When it happens

Trigger: Running `wsh wavepath config --tail` or `wsh wavepath data --tail`.

Common situations: Users copying a `wsh wavepath log --tail` invocation and swapping the path type while keeping --tail, or scripts that always append --tail.

Related errors

• no files or message provided
• too many files (maximum %d files allowed)
• stdin (-) can only be used once
• WAVETERM_TABID environment variable not set
• resolving block: %v

AI-assisted analysis of wavetermdev/waveterm@a4447c1563 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/48328d7bff5834b0. Report an issue: GitHub.