@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ Each release of Research-Kit, newest first. The version is `KIT_VERSION` in
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+- `path-authority` and `researcher-release` name a value flag with no value and print usage with exit 2 before resolving paths, including when another flag follows (#288).
+
 - `property-replay --all` refuses a missing regression directory with exit 2 and
   names it; an existing empty directory explicitly reports no captured regressions.
   JSON results identify the directory and zero count (#307).
 
@@ -277,14 +277,17 @@ markers - they wrote `research/` into any folder until 2026-09-28, `prior` a PRI
 `doctor --fix-arity` and `install` name a write the system refused - `could not write <file>:
 <CODE> (why)`, exit 2, via `writeFailure` - where they printed a stack trace, 2026-09-28),
 `path-authority.mjs` (offline Git-origin/path-authority snapshot validation and
-schema conformance),
+schema conformance; refuses a missing value for `--file`, `--schema` or `--root` by
+name before reading any input, as a usage error with exit 2),
 `researcher-release.mjs` (ported 2026-09-20, ADR-0029 — three subcommands over the two
 validators: `validate` for R28–R32 release evidence, `conform` for schema-only checking,
 `fi-validate` for an FI bundle. It **duplicates no validation**: every check comes from
 `release-validator.mjs` or `fi-validator.mjs` through their public exports. Reads **no
 environment variable at all**, so it cannot depend on a credential or a config. Status
 maps to exit code — `PASS` 0, `FAIL`/`REOPEN` 1, `INCOMPLETE` 2, `BLOCKED` 3, unknown 4 —
 and a **usage error exits 2 from every subcommand**, printing the usage block to stderr;
+its argument parser names a value flag without a value before resolving any path,
+including when the next token is another flag;
 `test/support-policy.test.mjs` pins that by running the CLI. It writes exactly one thing,
 only when asked: `fi-validate --report <file>`),
 `selftest.mjs` (every requested group must match a test file before any test starts; an unmatched group is named and refused with exit 2, including beside a valid group; #332. CLI regressions isolate child report paths from the parent suite; the whole suite, queued by the harness — which **awaits** every test,
 
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ node research-kit/bin/selftest.mjs            # all of it
 node research-kit/bin/selftest.mjs gate hook  # just these files
 ```
 
-1836 tests, offline, no key and no network. The runner **awaits** every test, so `ok` means
+1838 tests, offline, no key and no network. The runner **awaits** every test, so `ok` means
 the assertions settled (ADR-0021), and each test is raced against a watchdog
 (`RESEARCH_KIT_TEST_TIMEOUT`, default 60s).
 
 
@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ function parse(argv) {
   for (let i = 1; i < argv.length; i += 1) {
     const arg = argv[i];
     if (arg === '--json') { result.json = true; continue; }
+    if (['--file', '--schema', '--root'].includes(arg)
+      && (argv[i + 1] === undefined || argv[i + 1] === '' || argv[i + 1].startsWith('--'))) {
+      return { error: `${arg} needs a value` };
+    }
     if (arg === '--file') { result.files.push(argv[++i]); continue; }
     if (arg === '--schema') { result.schema = argv[++i]; continue; }
     if (arg === '--root') { result.root = argv[++i]; continue; }
 
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ function argsAfterCommand(argv) {
   for (let i = 1; i < argv.length; i += 1) {
     const arg = argv[i];
     if (arg === '--json') { result.json = true; continue; }
+    if (arg.startsWith('--')
+      && (argv[i + 1] === undefined || argv[i + 1] === '' || argv[i + 1].startsWith('--'))) {
+      return { error: `${arg} needs a value` };
+    }
     if (arg === '--file') { result.files ??= []; result.files.push(argv[++i]); continue; }
     if (arg.startsWith('--')) { result[arg.slice(2).replaceAll('-', '')] = argv[++i]; continue; }
     result._.push(arg);
@@ -47,6 +51,7 @@ function exitFor(status) {
 function main(argv = process.argv.slice(2)) {
   if (argv.includes('--help') || argv.includes('-h')) { process.stdout.write(`${usage()}\n`); return 0; }
   const parsed = argsAfterCommand(argv);
+  if (parsed.error) { console.error(`${parsed.error}\n${usage()}`); return 2; }
   let result;
   if (parsed.command === 'validate') {
     if (!parsed.root || !parsed.package || !parsed.registry || !parsed.roles || !parsed.pointers) {
 
@@ -102,6 +102,20 @@ test('path-authority validator rejects out-of-root paths, symlink claims, host m
   assert(result.errors.some((error) => error.code === 'SNAP-ORIGIN-UNPROVEN'), JSON.stringify(result.errors));
 });
 
+test('path-authority names a missing value before validating any input', () => {
+  for (const flag of ['--file', '--schema', '--root']) {
+    for (const tail of [[], ['--json']]) {
+      const args = ['research-kit/bin/path-authority.mjs', 'validate', flag, ...tail];
+      const run = spawnSync(process.execPath, args, { encoding: 'utf8' });
+      const output = `${run.stdout}${run.stderr}`;
+      assertEqual(run.status, 2, `${args.join(' ')}: ${output}`);
+      assert(run.stderr.includes(`${flag} needs a value`), output);
+      assert(run.stderr.includes('Usage:'), output);
+      assert(!/TypeError|paths\[0\]|ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE/.test(output), output);
+    }
+  }
+});
+
 test('path-authority CLI conform and validate are offline, deterministic, and read-only', async () => {
   const root = tempRoot();
   try {
 
@@ -188,6 +188,23 @@ test('researcher-release validate emits the contract status and exit code withou
   }
 });
 
+test('researcher-release names a missing value before resolving paths', () => {
+  for (const flag of ['--file', '--schema', '--root']) {
+    for (const tail of [[], ['--json']]) {
+      const args = [
+        'research-kit/bin/researcher-release.mjs', 'conform', '--schema', 'missing-schema.json',
+        '--file', 'missing-record.json', flag, ...tail,
+      ];
+      const run = spawnSync(process.execPath, args, { encoding: 'utf8' });
+      const output = `${run.stdout}${run.stderr}`;
+      assertEqual(run.status, 2, `${args.join(' ')}: ${output}`);
+      assert(run.stderr.includes(`${flag} needs a value`), output);
+      assert(run.stderr.includes('Usage:'), output);
+      assert(!/TypeError|paths\[0\]|ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE/.test(output), output);
+    }
+  }
+});
+
 test('researcher-release conform validates explicit files and maps schema failure to exit 1', async () => {
   const root = tempRoot();
   try {