BoundaryML/baml · error

Expected a string, not a map

Error message

Expected a string, not a map

What it means

as_static_str expects a string-typed UnresolvedValue; a Map (BAML object literal with key/value pairs) cannot be returned as &str, so it bails. The library throws this to keep static string reads type-safe rather than implicitly serializing objects.

Source

Thrown at engine/baml-lib/baml-types/src/value_expr.rs:530

}

impl<Meta> UnresolvedValue<Meta> {
    pub fn as_static_str(&self) -> Result<&str> {
        match self {
            Self::String(StringOr::Value(v), ..) => Ok(v.as_str()),
            Self::String(StringOr::EnvVar(..), ..) => {
                anyhow::bail!("Expected a statically defined string, not env variable")
            }
            Self::String(StringOr::JinjaExpression(..), ..) => {
                anyhow::bail!("Expected a statically defined string, not expression")
            }
            Self::String(StringOr::TemplateStringCall { .. }, ..) => {
                anyhow::bail!("Expected a statically defined string, not a template_string call")
            }
            Self::Numeric(num, ..) => Ok(num.as_str()),
            Self::Array(..) => anyhow::bail!("Expected a string, not an array"),
            Self::Bool(..) => anyhow::bail!("Expected a string, not a bool"),
            Self::Map(..) => anyhow::bail!("Expected a string, not a map"),
            Self::Null(..) => anyhow::bail!("Expected a string, not null"),
            Self::ClassConstructor(..) => {
                anyhow::bail!("Expected a string, not a class constructor")
            }
        }
    }

    pub fn resolve_string(&self, ctx: &impl GetEnvVar) -> Result<String> {
        match self.resolve(ctx) {
            Ok(ResolvedValue::String(s, ..)) => Ok(s),
            _ => Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Expected a string")),
        }
    }

    pub fn resolve_bool(&self, ctx: &impl GetEnvVar) -> Result<bool> {
        match self.resolve(ctx) {
            Ok(ResolvedValue::Bool(b, ..)) => Ok(b),
            _ => Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Expected a boolean")),

View on GitHub (pinned to bd85ce9dee)

Solutions

1. Replace the map literal with the specific string field/value required
2. Read the field with resolve_map(ctx) and extract the needed entry in code
3. Align the .baml schema so the field's declared type matches the authored value

Example fix

// before (baml)
options {
  model { name: "gpt-4o" }
}
// after (baml)
options {
  model "gpt-4o"
}

// Rust
if matches!(v, UnresolvedValue::Map(..)) {
    anyhow::bail!("expected a string field, got an object/map");
}
let s = v.as_static_str()?;

fn is_string_value<Meta>(v: &UnresolvedValue<Meta>) -> bool {
    matches!(v, UnresolvedValue::String(_, _))
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling as_static_str() on UnresolvedValue::Map(..) — a BAML field authored as an object/map literal ({ key: "value" }) but read through the string accessor.

Common situations: Nesting config by mistake (e.g. putting an options object where a scalar string belongs), or JSON-style config copied into a field that must be a plain string.

Understand the failure class

Background: Type mismatch errors: IllegalArgumentException, TypeError and type guards across 150 open-source libraries — this error's family across 150 libraries.

Related errors

• Expected a string, not an array
• Expected a string, not a bool
• Expected an array
• Expected a map
• Could not unify Float with {:?}

AI-assisted analysis of BoundaryML/baml@bd85ce9dee (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1c6462a5ef7a9189. Report an issue: GitHub.