JuliusBrussee/caveman · error · Error

${where} causal slice references a workflow variant that is

Error message

${where} causal slice references a workflow variant that is not in this report

What it means

item.causal_slice.variant_id must resolve against the report's workflow_variants map (validate-continuous-improvement.mjs:171-173). The causal slice is a subgraph of a variant this report carries; a dangling id — typo, deleted variant, or an id from another fixture — fails here before any node or edge checking begins.

Source

Thrown at packages/shared/contracts/scripts/validate-continuous-improvement.mjs:173

      throw new Error(`${where} cohort arms (${comparedUnits}) plus exclusions (${excluded}) do not account for its ${item.cohort.family_unit_count} family units`);
    }

    const selectedPerArm = new Map();
    for (const trace of item.representative_traces) {
      const variant = armVariants.get(trace.arm);
      if (!variant || variant.id !== trace.variant_id) throw new Error(`${where} representative trace names a variant that is not that arm's variant`);
      if (!unitsByID.has(trace.analysis_unit_id)) throw new Error(`${where} representative trace ${trace.analysis_unit_id} is not an analysis unit of this report`);
      if (!familyUnits.has(trace.analysis_unit_id)) throw new Error(`${where} representative trace ${trace.analysis_unit_id} is not a member of the cohort's task family`);
      if (!variant.analysis_unit_ids.includes(trace.analysis_unit_id)) throw new Error(`${where} representative trace ${trace.analysis_unit_id} did not run that arm's workflow variant`);
      selectedPerArm.set(trace.arm, (selectedPerArm.get(trace.arm) ?? 0) + 1);
    }
    for (const [arm, count] of selectedPerArm) {
      if (count > 3) throw new Error(`${where} arm ${arm} carries ${count} representative traces, more than three`);
    }

    const slice = item.causal_slice;
    const sliceVariant = variantsByID.get(slice.variant_id);
    if (!sliceVariant) throw new Error(`${where} causal slice references a workflow variant that is not in this report`);
    if (sliceVariant.id !== armVariants.get("baseline").id) throw new Error(`${where} causal slice is not taken from the baseline arm's variant`);
    const sliceNodes = new Set(sliceVariant.nodes.map((node) => node.id));
    if (slice.manifestation_node_id !== "" && !sliceNodes.has(slice.manifestation_node_id)) {
      throw new Error(`${where} manifestation node ${slice.manifestation_node_id} is not a node of variant ${sliceVariant.id}`);
    }
    if (item.diagnosis.manifestation.node_id !== slice.manifestation_node_id) {
      throw new Error(`${where} diagnosis manifestation node disagrees with its causal slice`);
    }
    for (const nodeID of slice.node_chain) {
      if (!sliceNodes.has(nodeID)) throw new Error(`${where} causal slice node ${nodeID} is not a node of variant ${sliceVariant.id}`);
    }
    if (slice.manifestation_node_id !== "" && !slice.node_chain.includes(slice.manifestation_node_id)) {
      throw new Error(`${where} causal slice omits its own manifestation node`);
    }
    const provenDependency = (edge) => edge.strength === "hard" && (edge.type === "data" || edge.type === "control") && edge.evidence_refs.length > 0;
    const variantEdges = new Map(sliceVariant.edges.map((edge) => [`${edge.from}${edge.to}${edge.type}`, edge]));
    for (const edge of slice.hard_edges) {
      if (!provenDependency(edge)) throw new Error(`${where} hard chain carries an unproven edge ${edge.from}->${edge.to}`);

View on GitHub (pinned to 766dce6b13)

Solutions

Set causal_slice.variant_id to a variant id that exists in this report — specifically the baseline arm's variant (see error 614).
If the variant object was removed, restore it to workflow_variants.
Regenerate the case rather than cloning, then re-run the validator.

Example fix

// before
"causal_slice": { "variant_id": "wf-build-9", ... }
// after — the baseline arm's variant in this report
"causal_slice": { "variant_id": "wf-build-01", ... }

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const danglingSliceVariants = (report) => {
  const ids = new Set(report.workflow_variants.map((v) => v.id));
  return report.cases.filter((c) => !ids.has(c.causal_slice.variant_id)).map((c) => c.id);
};

Try / catch

try {
  execFileSync(process.execPath, [VALIDATOR, reportPath, spansPath]);
} catch (err) {
  if (/causal slice references a workflow variant/.test(err.message)) {
    failCI(`slice variant id not in this report: ${err.message}`);
  } else throw err;
}

Prevention

Derive causal_slice.variant_id from the baseline arm in the generator instead of typing it.
Keep slices and their variants in the same fixture file.
When cloning a case as a template, the slice variant id is the first thing to rewrite.

When it happens

Trigger: The slice block was copied from another case or fixture with a different variant id; the variant was renamed; slice.variant_id was left as a placeholder while hand-authoring a case.

Common situations: Template-based fixture authoring; refactors that rename variant ids; cases cloned as starting points and only partially adapted.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of JuliusBrussee/caveman@766dce6b13 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/73b9f50e1f76d15d. Report an issue: GitHub.