plandex-ai/plandex · error

failed to parse the content: %v

Error message

failed to parse the content: %v

What it means

ValidateWithParsers parses content with a tree-sitter parser to detect syntax errors. If ParseCtx returns an error or a nil tree — and it is not the specific 'operation limit was hit' case (which yields a TimedOut result instead) — the function returns 'failed to parse the content: %v'.

Source

Thrown at app/server/syntax/validate.go:52

func ValidateWithParsers(ctx context.Context, lang shared.Language, parser *tree_sitter.Parser, fallbackLang shared.Language, fallbackParser *tree_sitter.Parser, file string) (*ValidationRes, error) {
	if file == "" {
		return &ValidationRes{Lang: lang, Parser: parser, Valid: true}, nil
	}

	// Set a timeout duration for the parsing operations
	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, parserTimeout)
	defer cancel()

	// Parse the content
	tree, err := parser.ParseCtx(ctx, nil, []byte(file))

	if err != nil || tree == nil {
		if err != nil && err.Error() == "operation limit was hit" {
			return &ValidationRes{Lang: lang, Parser: parser, TimedOut: true}, nil
		}

		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse the content: %v", err)
	}
	defer tree.Close()

	// Get the root node of the syntax tree and check for errors
	root := tree.RootNode()

	if root.HasError() {
		if fallbackParser != nil {
			fallbackTree, err := fallbackParser.ParseCtx(ctx, nil, []byte(file))
			if err != nil || fallbackTree == nil {

				if err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "timeout") {
					return &ValidationRes{Lang: lang, Parser: parser, TimedOut: true}, nil
				}

				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse the content with fallback parser: %v", err)
			}
			defer fallbackTree.Close()

View on GitHub (pinned to e2d772072e)

Solutions

1. Check the wrapped '%v' cause; if cancellation-related, extend the context deadline
2. Retry validation with a fresh, non-cancelled context
3. If the cause is 'operation limit was hit', treat as timeout (the code already maps this to TimedOut) — raise the limit if needed
4. Verify content was read fully (not truncated) before validating

Example fix

// before
res, err := syntax.ValidateWithParsers(lang, content, parsers)
// after
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Second)
defer cancel()
res, err := syntax.ValidateWithParsers(lang, content, parsers, ctx)

if ctx == nil || ctx.Err() != nil {
    ctx = context.Background() // never validate with a dead context
}
if len(content) == 0 {
    return nil // nothing to validate
}

res, err := ValidateWithParsers(lang, content, parsers)
if err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "failed to parse the content") &&
       !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "operation limit") {
        res, err = ValidateWithParsers(lang, content, parsers) // retry with fresh ctx
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ValidateWithParsers (directly or via ValidateFile/validateSyntax/loadBuildFile) on content that ParseCtx cannot parse, with an error other than the operation-limit timeout — e.g. context cancellation mid-parse.

Common situations: Validating files with a cancelled or expired context; parser/language lookup succeeded but the parse aborted for an unusual cause (resource exhaustion, internal parser error).

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

Related errors

• failed to parse the original content: %v
• failed to parse the proposed content: %v
• failed to parse the content with fallback parser: %v
• invalid context index: %s
• no context found with name: %s

AI-assisted analysis of plandex-ai/plandex@e2d772072e (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7805c5ad7de46fd8. Report an issue: GitHub.