Exit codes · Quarry

Every quarry subcommand returns one of a fixed set of exit codes. Scripts and CI jobs calling the CLI can branch on these without parsing error text.

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success.
`1`	Generic error. Check stderr for a one-line reason.
`2`	Bad usage: a missing argument, an unrecognized flag, or an invalid query.
`3`	Index not found, by name or by path.
`4`	Index locked, usually a scan or reindex already in progress.
`5`	Daemon not running, and the command needed it.
`6`	Licence invalid, expired, or required for the requested feature.

Checking from a shell script

quarry search "invoice" --index notes
case $? in
  0) echo "ok" ;;
  3) echo "index missing, run quarry index first" ;;
  5) quarry daemon --serve & ;;
esac

Code 4 in practice

A locked index almost always clears on its own within seconds, once the in-progress scan or reindex finishes. Retrying after a short delay is usually enough; there is no command to force it open, since doing that mid-write could corrupt the index.

Code 6 in practice

A Pro-only feature used without a valid licence, like the HTTP endpoint or a second index, returns code 6 rather than code 1, so scripts can distinguish a licensing problem from any other failure. See /pricing for plan details.