{"record":{"id":"f71dbcb6f9043698","repo":"HKUDS/Vibe-Trading","slug":"manifest-file-manifest-path-is-not-valid-json","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"manifest file {manifest_path} is not valid JSON: {exc.msg} at line {exc.lineno} column {exc.colno}","messagePattern":"manifest file (.+?) is not valid JSON: (.+?) at line (.+?) column (.+?)","errorType":"validation","errorClass":"ValueError","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"agent/src/tools/strategy_discovery_tool.py","lineNumber":474,"sourceCode":"            f\"manifest path {manifest_path} could not be resolved: {exc}\"\n        ) from exc\n    if not _manifest_path_allowed(resolved_manifest):\n        raise ValueError(\n            f\"manifest path {manifest_path} is outside the runtime root and \"\n            \"the allowed run roots; place the manifest under one of them \"\n            \"(e.g. next to the runs it lists)\"\n        )\n    try:\n        raw = manifest_path.read_text(encoding=\"utf-8\")\n    except OSError as exc:\n        raise ValueError(\n            f\"manifest file {manifest_path} is missing or unreadable \"\n            f\"({exc.strerror or 'I/O error'})\"\n        ) from exc\n    try:\n        parsed = json.loads(raw)\n    except json.JSONDecodeError as exc:\n        raise ValueError(\n            f\"manifest file {manifest_path} is not valid JSON: {exc.msg} \"\n            f\"at line {exc.lineno} column {exc.colno}\"\n        ) from exc\n    if isinstance(parsed, list):\n        return parsed\n    if isinstance(parsed, dict):\n        runs = parsed.get(\"runs\")\n        if not isinstance(runs, list):\n            raise ValueError(\n                f\"manifest file {manifest_path} must be a JSON object with a \"\n                \"'runs' array or a bare JSON array of run specs\"\n            )\n        return runs\n    raise ValueError(\n        f\"manifest file {manifest_path} must be a JSON object with a 'runs' \"\n        \"array or a bare JSON array of run specs\"\n    )\n","sourceCodeStart":456,"sourceCodeEnd":492,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/HKUDS/Vibe-Trading/blob/80ffdda44c5c4db0dd84d70e051cca591cea67df/agent/src/tools/strategy_discovery_tool.py#L456-L492","documentation":"load_manifest parses the manifest bytes as JSON with json.loads; a JSONDecodeError (syntax error such as trailing commas, single quotes, comments, truncated file) is re-raised as ValueError including the parser message plus line/column of the fault. The file was readable but not valid JSON.","triggerScenarios":"Manifest containing trailing commas, unquoted keys, Python-style None/True literals, single-quoted strings, or a truncated file; e.g. a hand-edited manifest with a comment line // runs.","commonSituations":"Hand-editing manifests in an editor that allows JSON5-style syntax; concatenating JSON files without joining into an array; log truncation cutting the last entry; YAML mistakenly saved with a .json extension.","solutions":["Validate the file: python -m json.tool <path> to see the exact syntax error position","Remove comments/trailing commas, use double quotes, null/false/true literals","Regenerate the manifest programmatically with json.dump instead of editing by hand"],"exampleFix":"# before (manifest.json)\n{ \"runs\": [ {\"id\": \"r1\",}, ] }\n# after\n{ \"runs\": [ {\"id\": \"r1\"} ] }","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"import json\njson.loads(Path(manifest_path).read_text(encoding=\"utf-8\"))  # fail fast with line/col","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"except ValueError as e: surface the line/column from the message to pinpoint the JSON syntax error","preventionTips":["Generate manifests with json.dump, never hand-edit","Run python -m json.tool in CI on manifest artifacts"],"tags":["strategy-discovery","manifest","json-parse","invalid-json"],"backgroundTag":"invalid-json","analyzedSha":"80ffdda44c5c4db0dd84d70e051cca591cea67df","analyzedAt":"2026-08-28T12:46:38.989Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-28T16:17:29.566Z"}