Hmbown/CodeWhale · error

invalid Runtime Chat virtual turn id

Error message

invalid Runtime Chat virtual turn id

What it means

validate_virtual_turn_id requires virtual turn ids to be exactly 35 bytes, start with "local_turn_", and have a suffix of only ASCII digits and lowercase hex letters. Like virtual thread ids, these must come from the local generator; any other shape is rejected.

Solutions

  1. Generate the id with the local virtual-turn-id generator
  2. Fix the prefix to "local_turn_" and make the suffix exactly 23 hex/digit chars
  3. Downcase hex and strip dashes/punctuation from the suffix
  4. Verify length: 11 (prefix) + 23 (suffix) = 35 characters

Example fix

// before
let id = "local_turn_42"; // too short
// after
let id = "local_turn_0123456789abcdef0123456"; // 11 + 23 = 35 chars
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

fn looks_like_virtual_turn_id(value: &str) -> bool {
    value.len() == 35
        && value.starts_with("local_turn_")
        && value[11..].bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_digit() || matches!(b, b'a'..=b'f'))
}

Type guard

fn as_virtual_turn_id(value: &str) -> Option<&str> {
    looks_like_virtual_turn_id(value).then_some(value)
}

Try / catch

if !looks_like_virtual_turn_id(&turn_id) {
    eprintln!("regenerating virtual turn id (got {turn_id:?})");
    let turn_id = generate_virtual_turn_id();
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling validate_virtual_turn_id (directly or via RelayState::validate over binding turns) with an id that is not 35 chars, lacks the "local_turn_" prefix, or whose 23-char suffix contains uppercase, non-hex letters, or punctuation.

Common situations: Hand-built turn ids in tests/tooling with wrong length; using a message or provider turn id where a locally generated id is required; string truncation or accidental whitespace.

Understand the failure class

Background: "invalid id" errors: invalid identifier format — why libraries reject IDs before lookup, and how to fix them — this error's family across 37 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@73e0f67d83 (2026-09-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d12b2b580d092352. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/tui/src/runtime_chat_relay.rs:1729

    if value.len() != 37
        || !value.starts_with("local_thread_")
        || !value[13..]
            .bytes()
            .all(|byte| byte.is_ascii_digit() || matches!(byte, b'a'..=b'f'))
    {
        bail!("invalid Runtime Chat virtual thread id");
    }
    Ok(())
}

fn validate_virtual_turn_id(value: &str) -> Result<()> {
    if value.len() != 35
        || !value.starts_with("local_turn_")
        || !value[11..]
            .bytes()
            .all(|byte| byte.is_ascii_digit() || matches!(byte, b'a'..=b'f'))
    {
        bail!("invalid Runtime Chat virtual turn id");
    }
    Ok(())
}

fn validate_native_record_id(value: &str, label: &str) -> Result<()> {
    if value.len() < 5
        || value.len() > 80
        || !value
            .bytes()
            .all(|byte| byte.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || byte == b'_')
    {
        bail!("invalid {label}");
    }
    Ok(())
}

fn validate_route_id(value: &str, label: &str) -> Result<()> {
    if !crate::runtime_api::runtime_chat_route_id_is_safe(value) {

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