CLI: ingest --error handling

When model ingestion fails (missing file, network error, invalid format), hwLedger follows the fail-loudly invariant: no silent fallback, clear error message pointing to the problem.

What you'll see

Running ingest with a missing file:

hwledger ingest gguf:///tmp/does-not-exist.gguf

The tool returns:

• Exit code: 3 (Resource not found)
• Error message: "File not found: /tmp/does-not-exist.gguf"
• Hint: "Check the path and try again"

No silent retry, no hidden cache hit. The error is loud and actionable.

Journey not yet recorded.

Run the journey recorder to capture interactions:

./apps/macos/HwLedgerUITests/scripts/run-journeys.sh

What to watch for

• Clear error type: "File not found" (not "I/O error" or "generic failure")
• Full path printed: Exact path that was looked up
• Exit code: Non-zero so scripts can detect failure
• No hiding: Not silently using a cached version or retrying forever
• Actionable hint: "Check the path" tells you what to do next

Next steps

• Ingest success flow — successful download and cache
• Troubleshooting — common ingest issues
• Exit Codes — meaning of exit code 3

Reproduce

# Fail explicitly (file doesn't exist)
hwledger ingest gguf:///tmp/does-not-exist.gguf
# Exit code: 3
# stderr: File not found: /tmp/does-not-exist.gguf

Source

Recorded journey tape on GitHub