From 9ca6a21888e2e57e04ec2fecdb64deda53ba4456 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Michiel Borkent <michielborkent@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:05:34 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Reject a :cmd key that is not a string, symbol or keyword

---
 src/babashka/cli.cljc       | 10 ++++++++++
 test/babashka/cli_test.cljc |  7 +++++++
 2 files changed, 17 insertions(+)

diff --git a/src/babashka/cli.cljc b/src/babashka/cli.cljc
index 68afc2c..31c6aab 100644
--- a/src/babashka/cli.cljc
+++ b/src/babashka/cli.cljc
@@ -1291,6 +1291,16 @@
   (when (:cmds node)
     (throw (ex-info "A tree node contains :cmds (table entry syntax): nest children under :cmd, or pass a table (vector of entries)"
                     {:node node})))
+  ;; a command key must name a command. A tree built in an evaluated context
+  ;; (e.g. unquoted function metadata) can turn a symbol key into the function
+  ;; value, which would become a garbage command name and silently misroute
+  #?(:squint nil :cljd nil :default
+     (doseq [k (if (vector? (:cmd node)) (map first (:cmd node)) (keys (:cmd node)))]
+       (when-not (or (string? k) (symbol? k) (keyword? k))
+         (throw (ex-info (str "Command name " (pr-str k) " is not a string, symbol or keyword"
+                              " (tree built in an evaluated context, e.g. function metadata?"
+                              " quote it or use string keys)")
+                         {:node node :key k})))))
   (let [;; a vector `:cmd` (pairs `[[name child] ...]`) preserves child order without
         ;; relying on map iteration order; fold it into the lookup map + `::cmd-order`
         node (if (vector? (:cmd node))
diff --git a/test/babashka/cli_test.cljc b/test/babashka/cli_test.cljc
index 5793bc8..81569ec 100644
--- a/test/babashka/cli_test.cljc
+++ b/test/babashka/cli_test.cljc
@@ -781,6 +781,13 @@
                      (take-while #(str/starts-with? % "  "))
                      (mapv #(str/trim %)))))))))
 
+#?(:squint nil :cljd nil :default
+   (deftest cmd-key-guard-test
+     (testing "a :cmd key that is not a name throws with an explanation"
+       (is (thrown-with-msg?
+            Exception #"is not a string, symbol or keyword"
+            (cli/dispatch {:cmd {identity {:fn identity}}} ["x"]))))))
+
 (deftest dispatch-exec-fn-test
   (testing ":exec-fn is called with just the parsed opts; :fn with the whole map"
     (is (= {:foo 1 :bar true}

From 0659c64a455a8e09aef5780ee06897d85cdb8168 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Michiel Borkent <michielborkent@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:08:00 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Shorten error

---
 src/babashka/cli.cljc | 7 +------
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/babashka/cli.cljc b/src/babashka/cli.cljc
index 31c6aab..05451ff 100644
--- a/src/babashka/cli.cljc
+++ b/src/babashka/cli.cljc
@@ -1291,15 +1291,10 @@
   (when (:cmds node)
     (throw (ex-info "A tree node contains :cmds (table entry syntax): nest children under :cmd, or pass a table (vector of entries)"
                     {:node node})))
-  ;; a command key must name a command. A tree built in an evaluated context
-  ;; (e.g. unquoted function metadata) can turn a symbol key into the function
-  ;; value, which would become a garbage command name and silently misroute
   #?(:squint nil :cljd nil :default
      (doseq [k (if (vector? (:cmd node)) (map first (:cmd node)) (keys (:cmd node)))]
        (when-not (or (string? k) (symbol? k) (keyword? k))
-         (throw (ex-info (str "Command name " (pr-str k) " is not a string, symbol or keyword"
-                              " (tree built in an evaluated context, e.g. function metadata?"
-                              " quote it or use string keys)")
+         (throw (ex-info (str "Command name " (pr-str k) " is not a string, symbol or keyword")
                          {:node node :key k})))))
   (let [;; a vector `:cmd` (pairs `[[name child] ...]`) preserves child order without
         ;; relying on map iteration order; fold it into the lookup map + `::cmd-order`