{"record":{"id":"41f63fffc987ba2c","repo":"ianstormtaylor/slate","slug":"cannot-get-the-next-path-of-a-root-path-path","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Cannot get the next path of a root path [${path}], because it has no next index.","messagePattern":"Cannot get the next path of a root path \\[(.+?)\\], because it has no next index\\.","errorType":"exception","errorClass":"Error","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"packages/slate/src/interfaces/path.ts","lineNumber":327,"sourceCode":"\n  levels(path: Path, options: PathLevelsOptions = {}): Path[] {\n    const { reverse = false } = options\n    const list: Path[] = []\n\n    for (let i = 0; i <= path.length; i++) {\n      list.push(path.slice(0, i))\n    }\n\n    if (reverse) {\n      list.reverse()\n    }\n\n    return list\n  },\n\n  next(path: Path): Path {\n    if (path.length === 0) {\n      throw new Error(\n        `Cannot get the next path of a root path [${path}], because it has no next index.`\n      )\n    }\n\n    const last = path[path.length - 1]\n    return path.slice(0, -1).concat(last + 1)\n  },\n\n  operationCanTransformPath(\n    operation: Operation\n  ): operation is\n    | InsertNodeOperation\n    | RemoveNodeOperation\n    | MergeNodeOperation\n    | SplitNodeOperation\n    | MoveNodeOperation {\n    switch (operation.type) {\n      case 'insert_node':","sourceCodeStart":309,"sourceCodeEnd":345,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/ianstormtaylor/slate/blob/72a37c701e5da4bb13a305d416d9c070d19d3a45/packages/slate/src/interfaces/path.ts#L309-L345","documentation":"Path.next() returns the sibling path immediately after the given one by incrementing the last index. The root path [] has no last index to increment, so Slate throws rather than returning an undefined result. It signals the caller tried to advance past the top level of the tree.","triggerScenarios":"Calling Path.next([]) directly; looping with Path.next in a while-loop that walks siblings until reaching the root; calling Path.next(Path.parent(p)) where p was already length 1 (parent is []).","commonSituations":"Iteration code like `let p = path; while (true) { ...; p = Path.next(p) }` without a bounds check; converting recursive traversal to iterative next-walking; off-by-one in loops that decrement path length down to zero.","solutions":["Guard before incrementing: if (path.length === 0) break/return — the root has no next sibling.","Bound sibling iteration by the parent's children count: compare Path.next(p) against the number of children of Path.parent(p).","Prefer Slate's built-in traversals (Node.nodes, Editor.nodes) which handle boundaries, over manual next-walking.","In loops that ascend with Path.parent, stop when path.length === 0 before any next() call."],"exampleFix":"// before\nlet p = startPath\nwhile (Editor.hasPath(editor, p)) { visit(p); p = Path.next(p) }\n// throws when startPath's chain reaches []\n\n// after\nlet p = startPath\nwhile (p.length > 0 && Editor.hasPath(editor, p)) {\n  visit(p)\n  p = Path.next(p)\n}","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"if (path.length === 0) { /* root: no next sibling, stop */ }","typeGuard":"const hasNextSibling = (p: Path): boolean => p.length > 0","tryCatchPattern":null,"preventionTips":["Bound sibling loops by parent children count, not by exceptions.","Stop ascending loops when path length reaches 0."],"tags":["slate","path","iteration","bounds"],"backgroundTag":"slate-invalid-path","analyzedSha":"72a37c701e5da4bb13a305d416d9c070d19d3a45","analyzedAt":"2026-08-27T23:04:51.145Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-28T00:17:15.603Z"}