dgraph-io/dgraph · error

unexpected end of facets

Error message

unexpected end of facets

What it means

Error raised by the RDF parser in chunker/rdf_parser.go when facet parsing reaches the end of the input before the facet list is complete. Indicates truncated or malformed facet data; fix by supplying the complete facet list in the statement.

Source

Thrown at chunker/rdf_parser.go:262

	if item = it.Item(); item.Typ != itemVarName {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("expected variable name, found: %s", item.Val)
	}
	if strings.TrimSpace(item.Val) == "" {
		return "", errors.New("empty variable name in function call")
	}
	s += "(" + item.Val + ")"

	it.Next()
	if item = it.Item(); item.Typ != itemRightRound {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("expected ')', found: %s", item.Val)
	}

	return s, nil
}

func parseFacetsRDF(it *lex.ItemIterator, rnq *api.NQuad) error {
	if !it.Next() {
		return errors.New("unexpected end of facets")
	}
	item := it.Item()
	if item.Typ != itemLeftRound {
		return fmt.Errorf("expected '(' but found %v at facet", item.Val)
	}

	for it.Next() { // parse one key value pair
		// parse key
		item = it.Item()
		if item.Typ != itemText {
			return fmt.Errorf("expected key but found %v", item.Val)
		}
		facetKey := strings.TrimSpace(item.Val)
		if len(facetKey) == 0 {
			return errors.New("empty facetKeys not allowed")
		}
		// parse =
		if !it.Next() {

View on GitHub (pinned to 759e242be6)

Solutions

1. Complete the facet section so it has '(key=value)' content after the object.
2. Remove any dangling facet marker if facets were not intended.
3. Validate each line ends cleanly (with the terminating '.') before parsing.

Example fix

// before
"<s> <p> \"v\" ("           // dangling '(' with nothing after
// after
"<s> <p> \"v\" (score=0.9) ."

func facetsComplete(line string) bool {
	return strings.Count(line, "(") == strings.Count(line, ")")
}

if _, err := ParseRDF(line); err != nil {
	if err.Error() == "unexpected end of facets" {
		return fmt.Errorf("incomplete facet section in line %q", redact(line))
	}
	return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: ParseRDF input where a '(' was expected to start facets but the line ended immediately after the object value, e.g. a dangling facet marker or a line cut off after the object.

Common situations: Truncated .nq files; streaming parsers that split lines mid-facet; generators that emit the facet opener without content.

Related errors

• expected '(' but found %v at facet
• expected key but found %v
• empty facetKeys not allowed
• NQuad failed sanity check. Subject: %q, Predicate: %q, Objec
• expected '(', found: %s

AI-assisted analysis of dgraph-io/dgraph@759e242be6 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6d1a22f512388008. Report an issue: GitHub.