deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness · error · SearchError

SEARCH_FAILED

SEARCH_FAILED

Error message

grep received malformed ripgrep --json output (a line is not JSON)

What it means

Error "grep received malformed ripgrep --json output (a line is not JSON)" thrown in deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness.

Source

Thrown at packages/fs/tool-fs-search/src/grep.ts:140

 */
function malformedRecord(detail: string, cause?: unknown): SearchError {
  return new SearchError(`grep received malformed ripgrep --json output (${detail})`, 'SEARCH_FAILED', cause !== undefined ? { cause } : undefined)
}

/**
 * Parse one `rg --json` NDJSON line into a match, `undefined` for the
 * non-match record types (`begin`/`end`/`context`/`summary`). A line that is
 * not JSON, or a `match` record missing its path / line number / line content,
 * throws {@link SearchError} `SEARCH_FAILED`. A match whose line is not valid
 * UTF-8 (ripgrep sends base64 `bytes` instead of `text`) yields a placeholder
 * preview rather than failing the whole search.
 */
function parseRecord(line: string): GrepMatch | undefined {
  let parsed: unknown
  try {
    parsed = JSON.parse(line)
  } catch (error: unknown) {
    throw malformedRecord('a line is not JSON', error)
  }
  if (typeof parsed !== 'object' || parsed === null) throw malformedRecord('a record is not an object')
  const record = parsed as { type?: unknown; data?: unknown }
  // Non-match record types (begin/end/context/summary — and any future type)
  // are transport framing, not results: skipped, not malformed.
  if (record.type !== 'match') return undefined
  if (typeof record.data !== 'object' || record.data === null) throw malformedRecord('a match record has no data')
  const data = record.data as { path?: unknown; line_number?: unknown; lines?: unknown }
  const pathText = typeof data.path === 'object' && data.path !== null ? (data.path as { text?: unknown }).text : undefined
  if (typeof pathText !== 'string') throw malformedRecord('a match record has no path text')
  if (typeof data.line_number !== 'number') throw malformedRecord('a match record has no line number')
  if (typeof data.lines !== 'object' || data.lines === null) throw malformedRecord('a match record has no line content')
  const lines = data.lines as { text?: unknown; bytes?: unknown }
  if (typeof lines.text === 'string') {
    return { path: pathText, lineNumber: data.line_number, line: lines.text.replace(/\r?\n$/, '') }
  }
  if (typeof lines.bytes === 'string') {
    return { path: pathText, lineNumber: data.line_number, line: '(line is not valid UTF-8)' }

View on GitHub (pinned to b150a551b8)

Solutions

1. Upgrade or reinstall ripgrep; verify that rg --json output is not intercepted or corrupted.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/fs/tool-fs-search/src/grep.ts:140 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

AI-assisted analysis of deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness@b150a551b8 (2026-08-24). Data as JSON: /api/errors/007e1c2ebbbac4c7. Report an issue: GitHub.