Summary

pm plan materialize cannot create items of a type that has a --required-on-create custom field, because there is no way to pass values for required custom fields through materialize. It fails with missing_required_option for the custom field.

Impact

Once a project adds a required-on-create custom field to its Task type (a common governance choice — e.g. acceptance_owner), pm plan materialize --materialize-type Task is broken for every plan step. The agent loop (plan → materialize → task) hits a dead end. Workaround is to materialize as a type without required fields, defeating the point of typed materialization.

Environment

• pm 2026.7.4, Node v22.20.0, Linux x86_64, fresh tracker + a --required-on-create --required-types Task custom field.

Reproduction

export PM_PATH="$(mktemp -d)/.pm"
pm init --defaults --agent-guidance skip
pm schema add-field acceptance_owner --type string --commands create,update --required-on-create --required-types Task
pm plan create --title "P" --step "Do thing"
pm plan materialize <plan-id> --steps 1 --materialize-type Task
# -> Error: missing_required_option --acceptance-owner for type "Task"

Expected

Either a --materialize-field key=value (repeatable) flag to satisfy required custom fields, OR materialize documents the constraint and suggests the workaround (materialize to a type without required fields, then pm update the new id).

Actual

missing_required_option hard fail; no guidance in the error that the cause is a required custom field on the target type.

Evidence

• repro/finding: reports/findings.jsonl slug plan-materialize-blocked-by-required-custom-field
• found in Phase 5 of the ContextOps dogfood

Workaround

--materialize-type Chore (or any type without required fields), then pm update <id> --acceptance-owner <value>.

Proposed improvement

Add --materialize-field key=value (repeatable) to pass custom field values, and/or have the materialize error message name the missing required field and suggest the workaround.

Dogfood context

Found in Phase 5 of the ContextOps dogfood after adding acceptance_owner as a required-on-create field for Task (Phase 4 governance).