HKUDS/Vibe-Trading · error · ValueError

cannot mark a model APPROVED from validation_status={current

Error message

cannot mark a model APPROVED from validation_status={current.value!r}; it must reach VALIDATED first

What it means

validate_validation_status_transition enforces the state machine: a model artifact can only become APPROVED from VALIDATED (or stay APPROVED). Trying to jump from UNVALIDATED, IN_VALIDATION, or REJECTED straight to APPROVED raises ValueError. Called by register_artifact and update_artifact.

Source

Thrown at agent/src/strategy_store/models.py:233

    The only hard rule: a model cannot be marked ``APPROVED`` unless it is
    already ``VALIDATED`` (re-approving an already-``APPROVED`` model is a
    harmless no-op transition). Every other transition is left to caller
    discretion.

    Args:
        current: The model's validation status before the change.
        new: The requested validation status.

    Raises:
        ValueError: if *new* is ``APPROVED`` while *current* is anything
            other than ``VALIDATED`` or ``APPROVED``.
    """
    if new is ValidationStatus.APPROVED and current not in (
        ValidationStatus.VALIDATED,
        ValidationStatus.APPROVED,
    ):
        raise ValueError(
            "cannot mark a model APPROVED from validation_status="
            f"{current.value!r}; it must reach VALIDATED first"
        )


def validate_model_registration(artifact: Artifact) -> None:
    """Validate that *artifact* carries the minimum model-registration fields.

    A model registration without a stated intended use or a stated
    limitation is, for governance purposes, not actually registered — so
    both fields are required and must be non-blank.

    Args:
        artifact: The artifact/model record to validate.

    Raises:
        ValueError: if ``intended_use`` or ``limitations`` is missing or
            consists only of whitespace.

View on GitHub (pinned to 80ffdda44c)

Solutions

First set status to VALIDATED (record the validation run/date), then a separate update to APPROVED
If the model was already validated elsewhere, re-import it with VALIDATED status and then approve
Never seed new artifacts with APPROVED in registration payloads

Example fix

# before
store.register_artifact(Artifact(name='m1', universe='u1', validation_status=ValidationStatus.APPROVED, ...))
# after
store.register_artifact(Artifact(name='m1', universe='u1', validation_status=ValidationStatus.VALIDATED, validation_date='2024-05-01', ...))
store.update_artifact('m1', Artifact(..., validation_status=ValidationStatus.APPROVED, ...))

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

from agent.src.strategy_store.models import ValidationStatus
ORDER = ['unvalidated','in_validation','validated','approved']
def can_approve(current: ValidationStatus) -> bool:
    return current in (ValidationStatus.VALIDATED, ValidationStatus.APPROVED)

Type guard

def transition_allowed(current: ValidationStatus, new: ValidationStatus) -> bool:
    return not (new is ValidationStatus.APPROVED and current not in (ValidationStatus.VALIDATED, ValidationStatus.APPROVED))

Try / catch

try:
    store.update_artifact(name, updated)
except ValueError as e:
    if 'APPROVED' in str(e): first persist VALIDATED with a validation_date, then retry the approve
    else: raise

Prevention

Model the state machine explicitly in registration scripts
Two-step promote: VALIDATED then APPROVED
Never default new artifacts to APPROVED in config dumps

When it happens

Trigger: register_artifact(Artifact(..., validation_status=ValidationStatus.APPROVED)) on a brand-new record; update_artifact moving status from 'unvalidated' or 'rejected' to 'approved' in one step.

Common situations: Re-registering a previously approved model from a config dump without replaying its validation history; scripts that stamp APPROVED at import time; tests asserting the guard.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid state transition" errors: "status must be X, actually Y", "already rejected/charging/uninstalled", "cannot ... while running" — what they mean when a library rejects your call — this error's family across 31 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of HKUDS/Vibe-Trading@80ffdda44c (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e6564639cec6fc85. Report an issue: GitHub.