JuliusBrussee/caveman · error · Error

${where} hard chain edge ${edge.from}->${edge.to} is outside

Error message

${where} hard chain edge ${edge.from}->${edge.to} is outside the slice's node chain

What it means

Contract validator guard: a causal slice's hard_edges entry references a from/to node that is not part of the slice's own node_chain. The continuous-improvement report's causal slice data is malformed; the edge data is at fault.

Source

Thrown at packages/shared/contracts/scripts/validate-continuous-improvement.mjs:194

    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}`);
      if (!sliceNodes.has(edge.from) || !sliceNodes.has(edge.to)) throw new Error(`${where} hard chain edge ${edge.from}->${edge.to} names a node outside variant ${sliceVariant.id}`);
      if (!slice.node_chain.includes(edge.from) || !slice.node_chain.includes(edge.to)) {
        throw new Error(`${where} hard chain edge ${edge.from}->${edge.to} is outside the slice's node chain`);
      }
      const source = variantEdges.get(`${edge.from}${edge.to}${edge.type}`);
      if (!source || source.strength !== "hard") throw new Error(`${where} hard chain edge ${edge.from}->${edge.to} is not a hard edge of variant ${sliceVariant.id}`);
    }
    for (const edge of slice.unproven_adjacencies) {
      // The whole point of the separate list: nothing in it may read as proven.
      if (provenDependency(edge)) throw new Error(`${where} unproven adjacency ${edge.from}->${edge.to} is in fact a proven hard dependency`);
      if (slice.hard_edges.some((hard) => hard.from === edge.from && hard.to === edge.to && hard.type === edge.type)) {
        throw new Error(`${where} adjacency ${edge.from}->${edge.to} appears in both the hard chain and the unproven list`);
      }
    }
    const upstream = new Set(item.diagnosis.root_cause_hypothesis.upstream_node_ids);
    for (const nodeID of upstream) {
      if (!slice.node_chain.includes(nodeID) || nodeID === slice.manifestation_node_id) {
        throw new Error(`${where} diagnosis upstream node ${nodeID} is not an upstream node of its causal slice`);
      }
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 766dce6b13)

Solutions

1. Add the missing nodes to slice.node_chain
2. Remove edges that are not part of the declared chain
3. Rebuild the slice so hard_edges and node_chain agree

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/shared/contracts/scripts/validate-continuous-improvement.mjs:194 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of JuliusBrussee/caveman@766dce6b13 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/939f08a2b8b3c8c0. Report an issue: GitHub.