What causes "found unexpected value: %s" in dgraph-io/dgraph?

Disable strictJSON if enum/block values are legitimate in your context

found unexpected value: %s

Error message

found unexpected value: %s

What it means

When converting GraphQL AST values to Go values, BlockValue (block strings) and EnumValue kinds are only accepted when strictJSON is false. This error fires when strictJSON mode is enabled and the parser encounters a block string or enum value where a JSON-compatible value is expected.

Source

Thrown at graphql/schema/wrappers.go:2986

				return nil, err
			}
			l = append(l, elemVal)
		}
		return l, nil
	case ast.Variable:
		vars[value.Raw] = true
		return value.String(), nil
	case ast.IntValue:
		return strconv.ParseInt(value.Raw, 10, 64)
	case ast.FloatValue:
		return strconv.ParseFloat(value.Raw, 64)
	case ast.BooleanValue:
		return strconv.ParseBool(value.Raw)
	case ast.StringValue:
		return value.Raw, nil
	case ast.BlockValue, ast.EnumValue:
		if strictJSON {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("found unexpected value: %s", value.String())
		}
		return value.Raw, nil
	case ast.NullValue:
		return nil, nil
	default:
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown value kind: %d, for value: %s", value.Kind, value.String())
	}
}

// Given a template for a body with variables defined, this function parses the body
// and converts it into a JSON representation and returns that. It also returns a list of the
// variable names that are required by this template.
// for e.g.
// { author: $id, post: { id: $postID }}
// would return
// { "author" : "$id", "post": { "id": "$postID" }} and { "id": true, "postID": true}
// If the final result is not a valid JSON, then an error is returned.
//

View on GitHub (pinned to 759e242be6)

Solutions

Disable strictJSON if enum/block values are legitimate in your context
Replace the enum literal with a string value in the template/body
Replace block strings ("""...""") with regular quoted strings
Convert enum values to their string representations before evaluation

Example fix

// before
status: ACTIVE  // enum value under strictJSON
// after
status: "ACTIVE"

Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Validate before calling

switch value.Kind {
case ast.BooleanValue, ast.StringValue, ast.NullValue: // safe
case ast.BlockValue, ast.EnumValue: // not allowed under strictJSON
  return errors.New("enum/block value not allowed in strict JSON mode")
}

Try / catch

if err := convertValue(v); err != nil {
  if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "found unexpected value") {
    return convertNonStrict(v) // fallback path
  }
  return err
}

Prevention

Avoid enum literals and block strings in strict-JSON contexts
Use string values instead of enum AST nodes in templates
Confirm strictJSON setting matches the data you feed the converter

When it happens

Trigger: Evaluating a value node (e.g. a variable default or argument) in strictJSON mode where the AST contains an ast.BlockValue or ast.EnumValue node.

Common situations: Using enum literals or triple-quoted block strings in contexts the strict JSON conversion path processes, e.g. building request bodies from templates with enum defaults.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of dgraph-io/dgraph@759e242be6 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/50fa9c582cdc8055. Report an issue: GitHub.