BoundaryML/baml · error · BridgeError

Project not initialized

Error message

Project not initialized

What it means

BridgeError::ProjectNotInitialized indicates the BAML engine exists but no BAML project (function/enum/class definitions compiled from .baml sources) has been loaded into it, so the requested operation has nothing to work against. The bridge distinguishes this from NotInitialized: the runtime handle is present, but the project-level context is missing. Like the other setup variants, it maps to a GenericSdkError on the host side.

Source

Thrown at baml_language/crates/bridge_cffi/src/error.rs:13

//! Error types for bridge_cffi.

use thiserror::Error;

/// Errors that can occur during bridge operations.
#[derive(Debug, Error)]
pub enum BridgeError {
    #[error(transparent)]
    Ctypes(#[from] bridge_ctypes::CtypesError),
    #[error("Engine not initialized. Call create_baml_runtime first.")]
    NotInitialized,

    #[error("Project not initialized")]
    ProjectNotInitialized,

    #[error("Engine lock poisoned")]
    LockPoisoned,

    #[error("{0}")]
    Runtime(#[from] bex_project::RuntimeError),

    #[error("CallFunctionArgs.call_target must be set")]
    MissingCallTarget,

    #[error("type arguments are not supported when invoking a BAML function handle")]
    FunctionHandleTypeArgs,

    #[error("Function not found: {name}")]
    FunctionNotFound { name: String },

    #[error("Missing argument '{parameter}' for function '{function}'")]

View on GitHub (pinned to bd85ce9dee)

Solutions

1. Load the project via the bridge's project initialization (initialize_runtime/create with the real .baml source map) before calling functions.
2. Verify root_path and src_files actually point at your .baml files and were accepted by the init call.
3. Re-initialize the runtime with the full project if state was reset (replace_runtime).
4. Add a pre-call check that the project is present and surface a clearer error if not.

Example fix

// before
engine = lib.create_baml_runtime()
lib.call_function(ctx, "ExtractInfo", args)  // no project loaded
// after
engine = lib.initialize_runtime("./baml_src", baml_files)
lib.call_function(ctx, "ExtractInfo", args)

# host side: confirm project sources were passed before calling functions
if not baml_files:
    raise ValueError("ProjectNotInitialized guard: pass .baml sources to initialize_runtime")

try:
    result = lib.call_function(ctx, name, args)
except BridgeError as e:
    if "Project not initialized" in str(e):
        lib.initialize_runtime(root_path, baml_files)
        result = lib.call_function(ctx, name, args)
    else:
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking a bridge operation that requires a loaded project (e.g. calling a function by name, listing functions) after creating a bare runtime without project sources, or after project state was reset/cleared; passing an empty or invalid src_files map during initialization so no project was actually registered.

Common situations: Creating the engine but skipping the project-load step; providing the wrong root_path so no .baml files were discovered; clearing/reloading state between tests and calling a function before reload finishes; embedding via ctypes where only the engine setup wrapper was ported.

Related errors

• Engine not initialized. Call create_baml_runtime first.
• {0}
• unsupported handle type
• {0}
• Protobuf decode error: {0}

AI-assisted analysis of BoundaryML/baml@bd85ce9dee (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/024845f812a216d0. Report an issue: GitHub.