can1357/oh-my-pi · error

${REWRITE_HEADER}${reference[1]} is valid only inside an inl

Error message

${REWRITE_HEADER}${reference[1]} is valid only inside an inline replacement or REWRITE, never MATCH.

What it means

A » reference (a patternReference like »N pointing at another operation's rewrite) found in a MATCH section's inline pattern is invalid — » rewrites are only meaningful as the target of an inline replacement or inside a REWRITE block, never as bare MATCH pattern text.

Source

Thrown at packages/coding-agent/src/edit/sloppy.ts:1099

		if (inline.replacements.length === 1 && inline.replacements[0] === "") {
			const tail = inline.patternText.match(/(?:^|\n)[ \t]*⟪⟫[ \t]*$/u);
			if (tail?.index !== undefined) {
				const remainder = inline.patternText.slice(0, tail.index);
				if (normalizeText(remainder).text !== "") {
					const wholeDeletion: Operation = {
						patternText: remainder,
						sourcePatternText,
						rewrite: { kind: "explicit", text: "" },
						all,
					};
					if (inline.notes.length > 0) wholeDeletion.recoveryNote = inline.notes.join("\n");
					return wholeDeletion;
				}
			}
		}
		const reference = patternReference(inline.patternText);
		if (reference) {
			throw new Error(
				`${REWRITE_HEADER}${reference[1]} is valid only inside an inline replacement or REWRITE, never MATCH.`,
			);
		}
		const operation: Operation = {
			patternText: relocateSelectionLines(inline.patternText),
			sourcePatternText,
			rewrite: { kind: "inline", replacements: inline.replacements },
			all,
		};
		if (inline.notes.length > 0) operation.recoveryNote = inline.notes.join("\n");
		return operation;
	}

	const reference = patternReference(sourcePatternText);
	if (reference) {
		throw new Error(`${REWRITE_HEADER}${reference[1]} is valid only in REWRITE, never MATCH.`);
	}
	if (rewriteText.trim() !== "") {

View on GitHub (pinned to 9690622007)

Solutions

1. Move the »N reference into the replacement part of an inline selection (⟪old│»N⟫) or a REWRITE block
2. Replace the reference with the literal text it pointed to in the MATCH pattern
3. Change the section from MATCH to REWRITE if the intent was a rewrite

Example fix

// before
§ MATCH
⟪old⟫ »2
// after
§ MATCH
⟪old│»2⟫

if (/^\s*»\d+/m.test(matchPatternSection)) {
  throw new Error('»N references are not allowed in MATCH pattern text');
}

try {
  applySloppy(content, input, ctx);
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && err.message.includes('valid only inside an inline replacement or REWRITE')) {
    // move the »N reference into the replacement/REWRITE and re-send
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: createOperation parsing a MATCH (inline) operation whose pattern text contains a »N reference outside an inline replacement context.

Common situations: An LLM emits '»2' in a MATCH section intending to alias another op's rewrite; confusion between MATCH and REWRITE section semantics when composing a payload.

Related errors

• ${REWRITE_HEADER}${reference[1]} is valid only in REWRITE, n
• Operation ${operationNumber} has an unclosed selection marke
• Operation ${operationNumber} has an unmatched closing select
• lines.join("\n")
• Operation ${operationNumber} has nested selection markers; u

AI-assisted analysis of can1357/oh-my-pi@9690622007 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7021f1e2f93a7710. Report an issue: GitHub.