yamadashy/repomix · error · RepomixError

--skill-output path cannot be empty

Error message

--skill-output path cannot be empty

What it means

In remote mode, when --skill-output is provided alongside skill generation it is resolved non-interactively as the skill target directory, so it must be a non-empty path. runRemoteAction throws this when cliOptions.skillOutput is truthy but its trimmed value is empty (src/cli/actions/remoteAction.ts:139), mirroring the default-action check but after the remote repo URL is resolved.

Source

Thrown at src/cli/actions/remoteAction.ts:139

    }

    // For skill generation, prompt for location using current directory (not temp directory)
    let skillName: string | undefined;
    let skillDir: string | undefined;
    let skillProjectName: string | undefined;
    if (cliOptions.skillGenerate !== undefined) {
      skillName =
        typeof cliOptions.skillGenerate === 'string'
          ? cliOptions.skillGenerate
          : generateDefaultSkillNameFromUrl(repoUrl);

      // Generate project name from URL for use in skill description
      skillProjectName = generateProjectNameFromUrl(repoUrl);

      if (cliOptions.skillOutput) {
        // Validate --skill-output is not empty or whitespace only
        if (!cliOptions.skillOutput.trim()) {
          throw new RepomixError('--skill-output path cannot be empty');
        }
        // Non-interactive mode: use provided path directly
        skillDir = await resolveAndPrepareSkillDir(cliOptions.skillOutput, process.cwd(), cliOptions.force ?? false);
      } else {
        // Interactive mode: prompt for skill location
        const promptResult = await promptSkillLocation(skillName, process.cwd());
        skillDir = promptResult.skillDir;
      }
    }

    // Run the default action on the downloaded/cloned repository
    // Pass the pre-computed skill name, directory, project name, and source URL
    // Redacted at the source: this URL is only ever rendered as a link in the
    // generated SKILL.md, never used to reach the network. Leaving it raw would
    // persist a credentialed remote into a file the user is likely to commit.
    const skillSourceUrl = cliOptions.skillGenerate !== undefined ? redactUrl(repoUrl) : undefined;

    const optionsWithSkill = {

View on GitHub (pinned to f465ad9093)

Solutions

1. Provide a concrete directory: `repomix --remote <url> --skill-generate --skill-output ./skills/repo-skill`.
2. Guard the flag in scripts so it is only added when the variable is non-empty, falling back to the interactive prompt.
3. Echo the assembled command before execution to verify the value.

Example fix

# before (SKILL_OUTPUT empty)
repomix --remote "$URL" --skill-generate --skill-output "$SKILL_OUTPUT"
# after
if [ -n "$SKILL_OUTPUT" ]; then set -- "$@" --skill-output "$SKILL_OUTPUT"; fi
repomix --remote "$URL" --skill-generate "$@"

if (args.includes('--remote') && args.includes('--skill-generate')) {
  const i = args.indexOf('--skill-output');
  if (i !== -1 && !(args[i + 1] ?? '').trim()) {
    throw new Error('Provide a non-empty --skill-output for remote skill generation');
  }
}

const isNonEmptyPath = (v: unknown): v is string => typeof v === 'string' && v.trim().length > 0;

try {
  await repomixRun(args);
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e.message).includes('--skill-output path cannot be empty')) {
    throw new Error('Set a real SKILL_OUTPUT directory before the remote run');
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: `repomix --remote <url> --skill-generate --skill-output ""` or `--skill-output " "`; CI scripts interpolating an unset SKILL_OUTPUT variable into the flag while --skill-output is passed unconditionally.

Common situations: Automation where the output-directory variable is empty for a job; quoting mistakes (`--skill-output ""`); reusing local skill commands where an empty string was tolerated upstream.

Related errors

• --skill-output path cannot be empty
• --skill-project-name cannot be empty
• --skill-output can only be used with --skill-generate
• --force can only be used with --skill-generate
• --skill-project-name can only be used with --skill-generate

AI-assisted analysis of yamadashy/repomix@f465ad9093 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/51a5de3e4eae9c09. Report an issue: GitHub.