From 1a48214ef0156a9f071b0dd0299f1cc982ab0af6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: jochen <jschoubben@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2026 03:26:02 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Flags may sit on either side of the repository

---
 cmd/mesh-builder/once.go | 32 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
 1 file changed, 26 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cmd/mesh-builder/once.go b/cmd/mesh-builder/once.go
index b1705b3..8a98042 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-builder/once.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-builder/once.go
@@ -34,13 +34,14 @@ func buildOnce(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	registry := set.String("registry", "",
 		"host:port to publish to. Without it the artifacts stay in this machine's container runtime, which is the genesis case")
 	workspace := set.String("workspace", "", "where to clone and build (default: a temporary directory)")
-	if err := set.Parse(args); err != nil {
+	positionals, err := parseAround(set, args)
+	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if set.NArg() != 1 {
+	if len(positionals) != 1 {
 		return errors.New("mesh-builder build <repository> [--path P] [--ref COMMIT] [--registry HOST:PORT]")
 	}
-	repository := set.Arg(0)
+	repository := positionals[0]
 
 	where := *workspace
 	if where == "" {
@@ -64,9 +65,9 @@ func buildOnce(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	}
 	fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr)
 
-	built, err := builder.Build(ctx, builder.Command, publisher, repository, *path, *ref, where)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
+	built, buildErr := builder.Build(ctx, builder.Command, publisher, repository, *path, *ref, where)
+	if buildErr != nil {
+		return buildErr
 	}
 
 	// To standard output, and everything else to standard error, so the caller can read this
@@ -112,3 +113,22 @@ type madeArtifact struct {
 	Kind      string `json:"kind"`
 	Reference string `json:"reference"`
 }
+
+// parseAround lets flags appear on either side of the repository, because a person writing this by
+// hand will put them wherever reads best and the standard parser stops at the first thing that is
+// not a flag. The same helper the control plane's commands use, for the same reason.
+func parseAround(set *flag.FlagSet, args []string) ([]string, error) {
+	var positionals []string
+	rest := args
+	for {
+		if err := set.Parse(rest); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		rest = set.Args()
+		if len(rest) == 0 {
+			return positionals, nil
+		}
+		positionals = append(positionals, rest[0])
+		rest = rest[1:]
+	}
+}