gchq/CyberChef · error · OperationError

Ψ1 start must be between 1 and 43

Error message

Ψ1 start must be between 1 and 43

What it means

Thrown by the Lorenz SZ40/42 operation when the Ψ1 (psi-1) wheel start position is outside its valid range. The Ψ1 wheel has 43 cams, so the 1-indexed start must be between 1 and 43 inclusive. The guard is on line 265 of src/core/operations/Lorenz.mjs.

Source

Thrown at src/core/operations/Lorenz.mjs:265

            lugx4 = args[29],
            lugx5 = args[30];

        let s1 = args[7],
            s2 = args[8],
            s3 = args[9],
            s4 = args[10],
            s5 = args[11],
            m37 = args[12],
            m61 = args[13],
            x1 = args[14],
            x2 = args[15],
            x3 = args[16],
            x4 = args[17],
            x5 = args[18];

        this.reverseTable();

        if (s1<1 || s1>43) throw new OperationError("Ψ1 start must be between 1 and 43");
        if (s2<1 || s2>47) throw new OperationError("Ψ2 start must be between 1 and 47");
        if (s3<1 || s3>51) throw new OperationError("Ψ3 start must be between 1 and 51");
        if (s4<1 || s4>53) throw new OperationError("Ψ4 start must be between 1 and 53");
        if (s5<1 || s5>59) throw new OperationError("Ψ5 start must be between 1 and 59");
        if (m37<1 || m37>37) throw new OperationError("Μ37 start must be between 1 and 37");
        if (m61<1 || m61>61) throw new OperationError("Μ61 start must be between 1 and 61");
        if (x1<1 || x1>41) throw new OperationError("Χ1 start must be between 1 and 41");
        if (x2<1 || x2>31) throw new OperationError("Χ2 start must be between 1 and 31");
        if (x3<1 || x3>29) throw new OperationError("Χ3 start must be between 1 and 29");
        if (x4<1 || x4>26) throw new OperationError("Χ4 start must be between 1 and 26");
        if (x5<1 || x5>23) throw new OperationError("Χ5 start must be between 1 and 23");

        // Initialise chosen wheel pattern
        let chosenSetting = "";
        if (pattern === "Custom") {
            const re = new RegExp("^[.xX]*$");
            if (lugs1.length !== 43 || !re.test(lugs1)) throw new OperationError("Ψ1 custom lugs must be 43 long and can only include . or x ");
            if (lugs2.length !== 47 || !re.test(lugs2)) throw new OperationError("Ψ2 custom lugs must be 47 long and can only include . or x");

View on GitHub (pinned to 4290ea7539)

Solutions

1. Set the Ψ1 start argument to an integer in [1, 43].
2. If positions are generated programmatically, clamp with `((n - 1) % 43) + 1` to fold into range.
3. Reset all twelve wheel-start fields to 1 (the safe default) and re-enter only the intended offsets.

Example fix

// before: args[7] = 0  (Ψ1 start)  -> throws
// after:  args[7] = 1              -> ok

// Ψ1 start (args[7]) must be in [1, 43]
function clampWheelStart(n, size) {
  if (!Number.isFinite(n)) throw new Error(`start must be a number, got ${n}`);
  return ((Math.floor(n) - 1) % size + size) % size + 1; // folds into [1, size]
}
args[7] = clampWheelStart(args[7], 43);

const isPsi1Start = (v) => Number.isInteger(v) && v >= 1 && v <= 43;

try {
  lorenz.run(input, args);
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof OperationError && /Ψ1 start/.test(err.message)) {
    args[7] = 1; // reset to safe default and retry
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Lorenz.run() with args[7] (the 'Ψ1 start (1-43)' argument) set to a value less than 1 or greater than 43, e.g. 0, -1, or 44+.

Common situations: Defaulting a wheel to 0 instead of 1; copying a recipe and forgetting to reset a wheel position; off-by-one from treating the position as 0-indexed; pasting a config snippet that used a different wheel model's range.

Related errors

• Ψ2 start must be between 1 and 47
• Ψ3 start must be between 1 and 51
• Ψ4 start must be between 1 and 53
• Ψ5 start must be between 1 and 59
• Μ37 start must be between 1 and 37

AI-assisted analysis of gchq/CyberChef@4290ea7539 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f0d73c5f23abca69. Report an issue: GitHub.