d2lang/d2 · error

expected "multiple" to be true or false

Error message

expected "multiple" to be true or false

What it means

D2's style-setting code parses the "multiple" style value with strconv.ParseBool; a non-boolean value triggers this error and the style is not applied. The check runs only when s.Multiple is non-nil.

Source

Thrown at d2graph/d2graph.go:401

			return errors.New(`expected "shadow" to be true or false`)
		}
		s.Shadow.Value = value
	case "3d":
		if s.ThreeDee == nil {
			break
		}
		_, err := strconv.ParseBool(value)
		if err != nil {
			return errors.New(`expected "3d" to be true or false`)
		}
		s.ThreeDee.Value = value
	case "multiple":
		if s.Multiple == nil {
			break
		}
		_, err := strconv.ParseBool(value)
		if err != nil {
			return errors.New(`expected "multiple" to be true or false`)
		}
		s.Multiple.Value = value
	case "font":
		if s.Font == nil {
			break
		}
		if _, ok := d2fonts.D2_FONT_TO_FAMILY[strings.ToLower(value)]; !ok {
			return fmt.Errorf(`"%v" is not a valid font in our system`, value)
		}
		s.Font.Value = strings.ToLower(value)
	case "font-size":
		if s.FontSize == nil {
			break
		}
		f, err := strconv.Atoi(value)
		if err != nil || (f < 8 || f > 100) {
			return errors.New(`expected "font-size" to be a number between 8 and 100`)
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 0d69dca6f5)

Solutions

1. Change the value to "true" or "false" (e.g. `x.multiple: true`).
2. Use 1 or 0 as numeric boolean literals.
3. Remove the multiple key to keep the default.
4. Pre-validate style strings with strconv.ParseBool in the calling code before assignment.

Example fix

// before (D2)
x: my shape
x.multiple: enabled
// after
x: my shape
x.multiple: true

func validStyleBool(v string) bool {
	_, err := strconv.ParseBool(v)
	return err == nil
}
// before applying: if !validStyleBool(multipleVal) { /* fix or reject */ }

func isParseBoolValue(s string) bool {
	switch s {
	case "1", "t", "T", "TRUE", "true", "True", "0", "f", "F", "FALSE", "false", "False":
		return true
	}
	return false
}

if err := obj.SetStyle("multiple", val); err != nil {
	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), `"multiple" to be true or false`) {
		// fallback: disable effect
		val = "false"
	}
}

When it happens

Trigger: Setting style key "multiple" (for multiple layering effect) to anything strconv.ParseBool rejects, e.g. `x.multiple: yes` or `multiple: enabled`.

Common situations: Writing descriptive values like "yes"/"enabled"/"on" for the multiple-outline effect, or templated configs that interpolate non-boolean strings.

Related errors

• expected "shadow" to be true or false
• expected "3d" to be true or false
• expected "animated" to be true or false
• expected "bold" to be true or false
• expected "italic" to be true or false

AI-assisted analysis of d2lang/d2@0d69dca6f5 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b1ce244ed4264948. Report an issue: GitHub.