Yeachan-Heo/oh-my-codex · error · Error

Nested sandbox.md frontmatter key requires a parent section:

Error message

Nested sandbox.md frontmatter key requires a parent section: ${trimmed}

What it means

parseSimpleYamlFrontmatter throws when an indented 'key: value' line appears before any section header has been declared. The parser only supports one level of nesting, and nested keys must follow a top-level 'section:' line that sets currentSection; otherwise there is no parent to attach the key to.

Source

Thrown at src/autoresearch/contracts.ts:118

    if (!trimmed || trimmed.startsWith('#')) continue;

    const sectionMatch = /^([A-Za-z0-9_-]+):\s*$/.exec(trimmed);
    if (sectionMatch) {
      currentSection = sectionMatch[1];
      result[currentSection] = {};
      continue;
    }

    const nestedMatch = /^([A-Za-z0-9_-]+):\s*(.+)\s*$/.exec(trimmed);
    if (!nestedMatch) {
      throw contractError(`Unsupported sandbox.md frontmatter line: ${trimmed}`);
    }

    const [, key, rawValue] = nestedMatch;
    const value = rawValue.replace(/^['"]|['"]$/g, '');
    if (line.startsWith(' ') || line.startsWith('\t')) {
      if (!currentSection) {
        throw contractError(`Nested sandbox.md frontmatter key requires a parent section: ${trimmed}`);
      }
      const section = result[currentSection];
      if (!section || typeof section !== 'object' || Array.isArray(section)) {
        throw contractError(`Invalid sandbox.md frontmatter section: ${currentSection}`);
      }
      (section as Record<string, unknown>)[key] = value;
      continue;
    }

    result[key] = value;
    currentSection = null;
  }

  return result;
}

function parseKeepPolicy(raw: unknown): AutoresearchKeepPolicy | undefined {
  if (raw === undefined) return undefined;

View on GitHub (pinned to 3ad79a8a6f)

Solutions

1. Ensure every indented key is preceded by an unindented section header line like 'evaluator:'.
2. Remove stray leading indentation from top-level keys.
3. Rebuild the frontmatter from the canonical evaluator template.

Example fix

# before
  command: ./run.sh
evaluator:
  format: json

# after
evaluator:
  command: ./run.sh
  format: json

function nestingHasParent(frontmatter: string): boolean {
  let hasSection = false;
  for (const line of frontmatter.split(/\r?\n/)) {
    if (!line.trim()) continue;
    if (/^[ \t]/.test(line)) { if (!hasSection) return false; }
    else if (/^[A-Za-z0-9_-]+:\s*$/.test(line)) { hasSection = true; }
  }
  return true;
}

try {
  parseSandboxContract(content);
} catch (err) {
  if ((err as Error).message.includes('requires a parent section')) {
    // move the indented key under a section header like 'evaluator:'
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Frontmatter where the first line(s) are indented key/value pairs, e.g. content starting with ' command: ./run.sh' before an 'evaluator:' header, or a blank-interrupted structure where the section context is lost.

Common situations: Manually reordering YAML so nested keys land above their section; deleting the 'evaluator:' line while keeping its children; pasting YAML with leading indentation on the first key.

Related errors

• sandbox.md must start with YAML frontmatter containing evalu
• Unsupported sandbox.md frontmatter line: ${trimmed}
• Invalid sandbox.md frontmatter section: ${currentSection}
• sandbox.md frontmatter evaluator.keep_policy must be a strin
• ${filePath} frontmatter "${key}" must not be empty

AI-assisted analysis of Yeachan-Heo/oh-my-codex@3ad79a8a6f (2026-08-27). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b7aaa3aac54fbe8e. Report an issue: GitHub.