Why the terminal says a command doesn’t exist and how to fix missing or unrecognized commands.

If you type a command and get:

Command not found: xyz

—or nothing happens at all—
it means the terminal cannot locate that command in the registry.

This article explains every cause and how to fix it quickly.

---

🔹 1. Command Name Typed Incorrectly #

The terminal requires exact command names.

Common mistakes:

❌ wallets
✔ wallet

❌ meta mask
✔ metamask

❌ who-am-i
✔ whoami

If unsure, type:

help

or:

help search <keyword>

Example:

help search gas

---

🔹 2. The Command Belongs to an Add-On That Is Not Active #

For example:

• Social Mining commands
• EVM wallet commands
• Solana commands
• Community plugin commands

If the add-on plugin is not activated →
its commands do not exist.

Fix:

1. Go to WP Admin → Plugins
2. Activate the add-on plugin
3. Reload the page
4. Check help again

---

🔹 3. Add-On JavaScript Didn’t Load #

Commands only exist if the add-on JS file is loaded correctly.

Check in the browser:

Inspect → Console

Look for errors like:

ReferenceError: registry is undefined
Failed to load resource: my-addon.js
SyntaxError: Unexpected token

If errors appear → add-on JS never registered commands.

Fix:

• Correct enqueue path
• Ensure ['cointacted-social-terminal-js'] is a dependency
• Remove JS minification/defer optimizers
• Fix syntax errors

---

🔹 4. Command Metadata Exists BUT the Function Doesn’t #

If metadata was registered but the actual command was not:

❌ commands_meta.mycommand exists
✔ but registry.mycommand does NOT

Then help shows the command, but running it prints:

Command not found: mycommand

Fix:

Add the function:

registry.mycommand = function(input) {
    append_line("Hello", "system");
};

---

🔹 5. Command Hidden or Marked Private (Guest Mode) #

Commands marked:

public: false

are hidden from guests and cannot be run unless logged in.

If the setting:

Allow logged-out visitors to use safe commands
is disabled:

• guests can only use public commands
• private commands give “not found”

Fix:

• Log in, or
• Enable guest-safe commands, or
• Mark your custom command as public:

commands_meta.mycmd.public = true;

---

🔹 6. Wrong Command Group or Metadata Typo #

Example of a typo:

group: "AD DON"

or:

group: "adddon"

or:

descripton: "..."

Invalid metadata → help may still show it, but the registry may mismatch the command name.

Fix metadata to:

group: "ADDON",
description: "...",
alias: [],
public: true

---

🔹 7. Command Overridden by Another Add-On #

If two add-ons use the same command name:

registry.stats
registry.stats

The last loaded one will replace the first.

Symptoms:

• help shows unexpected description
• command runs wrong function
• your command missing entirely

Fix:

• Rename your command
• Use namespacing like: myaddon_stats

---

🔹 8. Script Optimization Plugin Removed or Deferred the Script #

If the terminal or add-on script is deferred:

• registry doesn’t exist yet
• commands load before the terminal
• result: “command not found”

Disable:

• “Defer All JavaScript”
• “Combine JS”
• “Minify JS” (for add-ons)
• Cloudflare Rocket Loader

Reload and test.

---

🔹 9. Running Command Before Terminal Initialization #

If a developer calls:

registry.mycommand = ...

outside of:

window.onload

or without waiting for terminal script to load →
registry is undefined.

Fix:

window.addEventListener('load', () => {
    registry.mycommand = ...
});

---

🔹 10. JavaScript Error Earlier in the Terminal Script #

If a JS error happened before command initialization:

• registry may not be populated
• core commands may not exist

Console will show errors like:

Uncaught TypeError in terminal script

Fix that error first.

---

🔹 11. User Trying to Run Admin-Only Commands #

Commands like:

admin
debug

require:

• user to be logged in
• user to have appropriate capability

If not → terminal blocks command and shows “not found” to avoid leaking info.

Fix:

Log in as admin.

---

🔹 12. Running Command on a Page With Duplicate Terminals #

If two terminals are loaded at once:

• input may be bound to wrong registry instance
• commands may be bound to wrong DOM instance
• results: unpredictable “not found” errors

Fix:

Only place one terminal shortcode per page.

---

🎯 Summary #

“Command not found” happens when:

✔ command name misspelled #

✔ add-on inactive #

✔ add-on JS failed #

✔ metadata wrong or conflicting #

✔ private command used by guest #

✔ command overridden by another add-on #

✔ JS/hardening plugin blocking script #

✔ script loaded too early #

✔ admin-only command used by non-admin #

✔ duplicate terminal instances #

Once the registry is intact and script loads correctly, commands always work instantly.