zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · error · anyhow::Error

grok_cli extra_args option `{flag}` is missing its value and

Error message

grok_cli extra_args option `{flag}` is missing its value and could consume the provider-owned ACP command

What it means

A known value-taking flag (VALUE_TAKING_EXTRA_ARG_FLAGS: --sandbox, --tools, --permission-mode, --agent, --max-turns, ...) appeared as the final token with no following value. Validation aborts because if it were forwarded as-is, the option would consume the provider-owned trailing 'agent stdio' ACP command tokens as its value.

Source

Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-providers/src/grok_cli.rs:574

                    "grok_cli extra_args accepts long flags only and must not include positional arguments"
                );
            }
            let (flag, has_inline_value) = arg
                .split_once('=')
                .map_or((arg.as_str(), false), |(flag, _)| (flag, true));
            if RESERVED_EXTRA_ARG_FLAGS.contains(&flag) {
                anyhow::bail!(
                    "grok_cli extra_args must not include reserved flag `{flag}`. \
                     ACP transport, prompt, model, session, cwd, and update policy are owned by ZeroClaw."
                );
            }
            if has_inline_value || VALUELESS_EXTRA_ARG_FLAGS.contains(&flag) {
                index += 1;
                continue;
            }
            if VALUE_TAKING_EXTRA_ARG_FLAGS.contains(&flag) {
                let Some(value) = extra_args.get(index + 1) else {
                    anyhow::bail!(
                        "grok_cli extra_args option `{flag}` is missing its value and could consume the provider-owned ACP command"
                    );
                };
                if value.starts_with('-') {
                    anyhow::bail!(
                        "grok_cli extra_args option `{flag}` must use `--flag=value` when its value starts with `-`"
                    );
                }
                index += 2;
                continue;
            }
            anyhow::bail!(
                "grok_cli extra_args option `{flag}` must use `--flag=value` because its argument shape is not known"
            );
        }
        Ok(extra_args)
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

1. Append the value: ['--sandbox','strict'] or use the inline form '--sandbox=strict'
2. Use the --flag=value form everywhere to eliminate pairing mistakes
3. Recount pairs after editing the array

Example fix

# before
extra_args = ["--sandbox"]

# after
extra_args = ["--sandbox=strict"]

const VALUE_TAKING: &[&str] = &["--agent", "--allow", "--deny", "--effort",
    "--max-turns", "--permission-mode", "--reasoning-effort", "--rules",
    "--sandbox", "--tools"];

fn extra_args_fully_valued(args: &[String]) -> bool {
    let mut i = 0;
    while i < args.len() {
        let (flag, inline) = args[i].split_once('=')
            .map_or((args[i].as_str(), false), |(f, _)| (f, true));
        if VALUE_TAKING.contains(&flag) {
            if inline { i += 1; continue; }
            if i + 1 >= args.len() { return false; } // would eat 'agent stdio'
            i += 2;
        } else { i += 1; }
    }
    true
}

fn extra_args_fully_valued(args: &[String]) -> bool {
    let mut i = 0;
    while i < args.len() {
        let (flag, inline) = args[i].split_once('=')
            .map_or((args[i].as_str(), false), |(f, _)| (f, true));
        if ["--sandbox", "--tools", "--permission-mode", "--max-turns"].contains(&flag) {
            if inline { i += 1; continue; }
            if i + 1 >= args.len() { return false; }
            i += 2;
        } else { i += 1; }
    }
    true
}

When it happens

Trigger: extra_args ends with a bare '--sandbox' or '--tools'; list misalignment where a value-taking flag is followed by another flag; truncated config after an edit.

Common situations: Hand-edited TOML arrays losing the last element; mixed '--flag value' and '--flag=value' styles confusing pairing; values starting with '-' hit the sibling rule instead.

Related errors

• grok_cli extra_args accepts long flags only and must not inc
• grok_cli extra_args must not include reserved flag `{flag}`.
• grok_cli requires an explicit working_directory for the ACP
• grok_cli working_directory must be an absolute path
• grok_cli working_directory must identify a directory

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f735109a891211ce. Report an issue: GitHub.