pbakaus/impeccable · warning · Error

config.exclude, if present, must be a string array

Error message

config.exclude, if present, must be a string array

What it means

Fourth validateConfig() check: cfg.exclude is optional, but if present it must be an array. Fires when exclude is set to a string, number, object, or null (null is typeof 'object' but not Array.isArray, so it triggers). The exclude list feeds globToRegex filters in resolveFiles(), which iterates with .map(), so a non-array would throw later anyway — this validates early with a clear message.

Source

Thrown at plugin/skills/impeccable/scripts/live-inject.mjs:459

  }
  return new RegExp('^' + re + '$');
}

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Core operations
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

function validateConfig(cfg) {
  if (!cfg || typeof cfg !== 'object') throw new Error('config.json must be an object');
  if (!Array.isArray(cfg.files) || cfg.files.length === 0) {
    throw new Error('config.files (non-empty string array) required');
  }
  if (!cfg.files.every((f) => typeof f === 'string' && f.length > 0)) {
    throw new Error('config.files must contain only non-empty strings');
  }
  if (cfg.exclude !== undefined) {
    if (!Array.isArray(cfg.exclude)) {
      throw new Error('config.exclude, if present, must be a string array');
    }
    if (!cfg.exclude.every((f) => typeof f === 'string' && f.length > 0)) {
      throw new Error('config.exclude must contain only non-empty strings');
    }
  }
  if (typeof cfg.insertBefore !== 'string' && typeof cfg.insertAfter !== 'string') {
    throw new Error('config.insertBefore or config.insertAfter (string) required');
  }
  if (cfg.commentSyntax !== 'html' && cfg.commentSyntax !== 'jsx') {
    throw new Error("config.commentSyntax must be 'html' or 'jsx'");
  }
  if (cfg.cspChecked !== undefined && typeof cfg.cspChecked !== 'boolean') {
    throw new Error("config.cspChecked, if present, must be a boolean");
  }
}

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Auto-execute

View on GitHub (pinned to d14711ae3d)

Solutions

1. Provide exclude as an array of glob strings, e.g. ["node_modules\/**", "dist\/**"].
2. Remove the exclude key entirely if you have no exclusions (HARD_EXCLUDES already filters common build dirs).
3. If migrating, normalise: exclude = exclude == null ? undefined : (Array.isArray(exclude) ? exclude : [exclude]).
4. Validate with `node live-inject.mjs --check`.

Example fix

// before
{ "exclude": "node_modules", ... }

// after
{ "exclude": ["node_modules\/**"], ... }

function isValidExclude(cfg) {
  return cfg?.exclude === undefined || Array.isArray(cfg.exclude);
}
if (!isValidExclude(cfg)) {
  // normalise a single string to an array, or drop it
  cfg.exclude = typeof cfg.exclude === 'string' ? [cfg.exclude] : undefined;
}

/** True when exclude is absent or a string array. */
function isOptionalStringArray(value) {
  return value === undefined || Array.isArray(value);
}

try {
  validateConfig(cfg);
} catch (err) {
  if (/config\.exclude, if present, must be a string array/.test(err.message)) {
    cfg.exclude = Array.isArray(cfg.exclude) ? cfg.exclude : undefined;
    validateConfig(cfg);
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: "exclude": "node_modules" (string), "exclude": null, "exclude": {"node_modules": true}. A correctly absent exclude key (undefined) skips the whole block.

Common situations: User assumed exclude takes a single glob string like gitignore; hand-edit replaced an array with a scalar; a config migration left null where an array used to be.

Related errors

• config.json must be an object
• config.files (non-empty string array) required
• config.files must contain only non-empty strings
• config.exclude must contain only non-empty strings
• config.insertBefore or config.insertAfter (string) required

AI-assisted analysis of pbakaus/impeccable@d14711ae3d (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5a959d3cdd2f60fa. Report an issue: GitHub.