yiisoft/yii2 · error · Exception

No help for unknown sub-command "$name".

Error message

No help for unknown sub-command "$name".

What it means

Error "No help for unknown sub-command "$name"." thrown in yiisoft/yii2.

Source

Thrown at framework/console/controllers/HelpController.php:407

            $scriptName = $this->getScriptName();
            $this->stdout("\nTo see the detailed information about individual sub-commands, enter:\n");
            $this->stdout("\n  $scriptName " . $this->ansiFormat('help', Console::FG_YELLOW) . ' '
                . $this->ansiFormat('<sub-command>', Console::FG_CYAN) . "\n\n");
        }
    }

    /**
     * Displays the detailed information of a command action.
     * @param Controller $controller the controller instance
     * @param string $actionID action ID
     * @throws Exception if the action does not exist
     */
    protected function getSubCommandHelp($controller, $actionID)
    {
        $action = $controller->createAction($actionID);
        if ($action === null) {
            $name = $this->ansiFormat(rtrim($controller->getUniqueId() . '/' . $actionID, '/'), Console::FG_YELLOW);
            throw new Exception("No help for unknown sub-command \"$name\".");
        }

        $description = $controller->getActionHelp($action);
        if ($description !== '') {
            $this->stdout("\nDESCRIPTION\n", Console::BOLD);
            $this->stdout("\n$description\n\n");
        }

        $this->stdout("\nUSAGE\n\n", Console::BOLD);
        $scriptName = $this->getScriptName();
        if ($action->id === $controller->defaultAction) {
            $this->stdout($scriptName . ' ' . $this->ansiFormat($controller->getUniqueId(), Console::FG_YELLOW));
        } else {
            $this->stdout($scriptName . ' ' . $this->ansiFormat($action->getUniqueId(), Console::FG_YELLOW));
        }

        $args = $controller->getActionArgsHelp($action);
        foreach ($args as $name => $arg) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 66f00d18a2)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at framework/console/controllers/HelpController.php:407 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of yiisoft/yii2@66f00d18a2 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9bfff773b32c608b. Report an issue: GitHub.