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Troubleshooting

Common issues and how to fix them.

Config Issues​

"Could not find cli-bench.yaml"​

cli-bench looks for cli-bench.yaml in the current directory.

Fix: Run from the directory containing your config, or use:

cliwatch validate --file path/to/cli-bench.yaml

"Invalid config" / Validation Errors​

Run cliwatch validate for detailed error information:

cliwatch validate

Common schema errors:

  • Missing required fields (cli, tasks, id, intent, assert)
  • Empty assert array (at least one assertion required)
  • Invalid difficulty value (must be easy, medium, or hard)
  • Invalid max_turns (must be 1-20)
  • Invalid repeat (must be 1-100)

Duplicate Task IDs​

All task IDs must be unique across the entire config, including tasks loaded from external file:// references.

Provider Issues​

"Missing AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY"​

All model calls go through the Vercel AI Gateway. Set the key:

export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="vck_..."

In CI, add AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY as a repository secret. See Providers & Models for details.

"Model not found" / API Errors​

  • Check the model ID format: provider/model-id
  • Verify the model ID is valid (see Providers)
  • Check that your API key has access to the specified model

CLI Issues​

"CLI not found in PATH"​

The cli value must be executable:

which mycli          # Check if available
cli: ./bin/mycli     # Use a path for local binaries

"version_command failed"​

If your CLI doesn't have a version command, remove the version_command field from your config.

Task Issues​

Tasks Failing Unexpectedly​

  1. Check your assertions: is the regex in ran too strict? Allow for flag reordering
  2. Increase max_turns: the LLM might need more interaction rounds
  3. Check your intent: is it clear and specific?

"Invalid regex" in ran/not_ran​

The pattern must be a valid JavaScript regex:

# Wrong: unescaped special characters
- ran: "docker build (tag)"

# Right
- ran: "docker build.*tag"

Upload Issues​

"Failed to upload results"​

Check your CLIWatch API key:

echo $CLIWATCH_API_KEY

If you don't want to upload, set upload: never in your config.

Performance​

Benchmarks Are Slow​

  • Lower max_turns on easy tasks
  • Use fewer providers during development
  • Test with smaller models first (anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5, google/gemini-3-flash)

High Token Usage​

  • Use simpler intents that require fewer turns
  • Reduce max_turns to limit conversation length
  • Keep system_prompt concise to minimize prompt size

Getting Help​