> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.anarlog.so/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Errors and exit codes

> Interpret CLI failures and recover without modifying Anarlog storage.

Without `--json`, CLI errors are written to standard error as human-readable text beginning with `error:`. With `--json`, errors contain `schema_version` and an `error` object with `code`, `message`, and `exit_code`.

| Exit code | Meaning                                                        | Recovery                                                                                          |
| --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `0`       | Success                                                        | Consume stdout.                                                                                   |
| `1`       | Database or operation failure, or an unhealthy `doctor` report | Check the reported action or inspect the diagnostic report and confirm app and CLI compatibility. |
| `2`       | Meeting, note, or other requested data not found               | List meetings again and use a returned ID.                                                        |
| `3`       | Database file not found                                        | Open Anarlog once or provide the correct database path.                                           |
| `4`       | Export output already exists                                   | Choose another path or explicitly pass `--force` to replace the file.                             |

Invalid arguments use the `invalid_arguments` error code with Clap's nonzero exit code.

MCP reports missing meetings as invalid parameters. Database and serialization failures are internal MCP errors.

Do not recover by creating tables, running migrations, or issuing SQL. The desktop app owns schema initialization and migrations.