hcengineering/platform · error · Error

attribute not found: ${name}

Error message

attribute not found: ${name}

What it means

Hierarchy.getAttribute returns a required attribute of a classifier. It delegates to findAttribute, which walks the class and its ancestors looking for the attribute; if no ancestor defines it, this Error is thrown. It signals the requested attribute simply does not exist on the class hierarchy.

Source

Thrown at foundations/core/packages/core/src/hierarchy.ts:553

  getParentClass (_class: Ref<Class<Obj>>): Ref<Class<Obj>> {
    const baseDomain = this.getDomain(_class)
    const ancestors = this.getAncestors(_class)
    let result: Ref<Class<Obj>> = _class
    for (const ancestor of ancestors) {
      try {
        const domain = this.getClass(ancestor).domain
        if (domain === baseDomain) {
          result = ancestor
        }
      } catch {}
    }
    return result
  }

  getAttribute (classifier: Ref<Classifier>, name: string): AnyAttribute {
    const attr = this.findAttribute(classifier, name)
    if (attr === undefined) {
      throw new Error('attribute not found: ' + name)
    }
    return attr
  }

  public findAttribute (classifier: Ref<Classifier>, name: string): AnyAttribute | undefined {
    const list = [classifier]
    const visited = new Set<Ref<Classifier>>()
    while (list.length > 0) {
      const cl = list.shift() as Ref<Classifier>
      if (addNew(visited, cl)) {
        const attribute = this.attributes.get(cl)?.get(name)
        if (attribute !== undefined) {
          return attribute
        }
        // Check ancestorsOf
        list.push(...this.ancestorsOf(cl))
      }
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 63e28dc964)

Solutions

1. Verify the attribute name against the class definition (and any mixins) in the model source
2. Use hierarchy.findAttribute(...) and handle undefined when the attribute is optional
3. Ensure the attribute-defining model tx has been applied to the hierarchy
4. Check whether the attribute lives on a mixin and use getMixin-based attribute lookup instead

Example fix

// before
const attr = hierarchy.getAttribute(obj._class, 'dueDate')
// after
const attr = hierarchy.findAttribute(obj._class, 'dueDate')
if (attr === undefined) {
  console.warn(`Attribute dueDate missing on ${obj._class}; skipping`)
  return
}
// use attr

const attr = hierarchy.findAttribute(classifier, name)
if (attr === undefined) {
  throw new Error(`Attribute '${name}' does not exist on ${String(classifier)} or its ancestors`)
}
// safe to use attr

function hasAttribute(h: Hierarchy, c: Ref<Classifier>, name: string): boolean {
  return h.findAttribute(c, name) !== undefined
}

let attr: AnyAttribute
try {
  attr = hierarchy.getAttribute(classifier, name)
} catch (err) {
  console.warn(`Skipping missing attribute ${name} on ${String(classifier)}`)
  return undefined
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling getAttribute with an attribute name that was never defined (missing ClassType attribute tx), a misspelled attribute key, or querying an attribute that only exists on a mixin not attached to the object/class.

Common situations: Model rename where old attribute keys remain in code or persisted data; expecting inherited attributes that were moved to a mixin; version mismatch between client code and loaded model definitions.

Related errors

• ancestors not found: ${_class}
• class not found: ${_class}
• interface not found: ${_interface}
• domain not found: ${_class}
• descendants not found: ${_class}

AI-assisted analysis of hcengineering/platform@63e28dc964 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1f703af350ff5b48. Report an issue: GitHub.