windmill-labs/windmill · error · Error

Invalid direction '${opts.direction}'. Use 'to-parent' or 't

Error message

Invalid direction '${opts.direction}'. Use 'to-parent' or 'to-fork'.

What it means

`wmill workspace merge` accepts a `--direction` flag limited to 'to-parent' or 'to-fork'. Any other non-empty value fails validation after the merge computation steps; omitting it falls back to 'to-parent' with --yes or an interactive prompt.

Source

Thrown at cli/src/commands/workspace/merge.ts:382

        const isConflict = d.ahead > 0 && d.behind > 0;
        return [
          String(i + 1),
          d.kind,
          d.path,
          d.ahead > 0 ? colors.green(String(d.ahead)) : "0",
          d.behind > 0 ? colors.yellow(String(d.behind)) : "0",
          isConflict ? colors.red("YES") : "",
        ];
      })
    )
    .render();

  // 6. Determine direction
  let direction: "to-parent" | "to-fork";
  if (opts.direction === "to-parent" || opts.direction === "to-fork") {
    direction = opts.direction;
  } else if (opts.direction) {
    throw new Error(
      `Invalid direction '${opts.direction}'. Use 'to-parent' or 'to-fork'.`
    );
  } else if (opts.yes) {
    direction = "to-parent";
  } else {
    const { Select } = await import("@cliffy/prompt/select");
    direction = (await Select.prompt({
      message: "Deploy direction:",
      options: [
        {
          name: `Deploy to parent (${parentWorkspaceId}) ← fork changes`,
          value: "to-parent",
        },
        {
          name: `Update fork (${forkWorkspaceId}) ← parent changes`,
          value: "to-fork",
        },
      ],

View on GitHub (pinned to e474e8803c)

Solutions

1. Use exactly `--direction to-parent` or `--direction to-fork`
2. Omit the flag and use `--yes` (defaults to to-parent) or answer the interactive prompt
3. Check `wmill workspace merge --help` for accepted values

Example fix

// before
wmill workspace merge --direction toParent
// after
wmill workspace merge --direction to-parent

const VALID = ['to-parent', 'to-fork'] as const;
if (opts.direction && !VALID.includes(opts.direction as any)) {
  throw new Error(`--direction must be one of ${VALID.join('|')}`);
}

function isValidDirection(d: unknown): d is 'to-parent' | 'to-fork' {
  return d === 'to-parent' || d === 'to-fork';
}

try {
  await mergeWorkspaces(opts);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.startsWith('Invalid direction')) {
    log.error('Use --direction to-parent or to-fork.');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing e.g. `wmill workspace merge --direction parent-to-fork` or a typo like `toParent`; any `opts.direction` not exactly 'to-parent' or 'to-fork'.

Common situations: Typos or casing mistakes in scripts; assuming other direction aliases exist; copy-pasting flag values from other CLIs.

Understand the failure class

Background: "unknown output mode", "invalid value for flag", "expects true/false": fixing invalid flag value errors in CLI tools — this error's family across 24 libraries.

Related errors

• file path must refer to a file.
• file path must refer to a file.
• --from-branch is for converting a *different* working branch
• Could not resolve workspace from branch name. Make sure you
• Workspace '${forkWorkspaceId}' is not a fork (no parent_work

AI-assisted analysis of windmill-labs/windmill@e474e8803c (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f16bb9fcd491427f. Report an issue: GitHub.