podman-container-tools/podman · error · ValueError

Invalid inline if/else syntax: {inner}

Error message

Invalid inline if/else syntax: {inner}

What it means

Wrapped error from the inline-conditional path in render(): a token containing both ' if ' and ' else ' (e.g. '<< "foo" if cond else "bar" >>') failed during split or evaluation. The original exception is chained (__cause__), and in practice the cause is almost always 'undefined variable' — truthy(cond) only understands a bare defined variable name (currently only is_quadlet), not expressions like 'a == b', 'a and b', or multi-word conditions.

Source

Thrown at hack/markdown-preprocess:109

                continue
            if inner == "endif":
                if not stack:
                    raise ValueError("`end` without `if`")
                stack.pop()
                continue

            # inline "X if cond else Y" ---
            if " if " in inner and " else " in inner:
                try:
                    # split by " if " then " else "
                    then_part, rest = inner.split(" if ", 1)
                    cond, else_part = rest.split(" else ", 1)
                    cond = cond.strip()
                    chosen = then_part if truthy(cond) else else_part
                    if is_active():
                        out.append(chosen.strip().strip("'\""))
                except Exception as e:
                    raise ValueError(f"Invalid inline if/else syntax: {inner}") from e
                continue

            # Unrecognized token (e.g. `<<a|b>>` for replace_type, or `<<subcommand>>`):
            # preserve verbatim so downstream processing can handle it.
            if is_active():
                out.append(m.group(0))

        # trailing literal
        if is_active():
            out.append(text[pos:])

        if stack:
            raise ValueError("unclosed `if` block(s)")
        return "".join(out)

    def process(self, infile:str):
        """
        Main calling point: preprocesses one file

View on GitHub (pinned to a2409076ef)

Solutions

1. Use a defined variable as the condition: '<< "foo" if is_quadlet else "bar" >>'
2. For multi-word or negated conditions use the block form: << if not is_quadlet >>...<< endif >>
3. If the text is literal prose containing 'if'/'else', move it out of the <<...>> token or rephrase so the token does not contain both ' if ' and ' else '
4. Inspect ex.__cause__ of the wrapping error to see the underlying failure

Example fix

# before
<< "--pod" if pod option else "--container" >>

# after
<< "--pod" if is_quadlet else "--container" >>

import re, pathlib, sys
ALLOWED = {'is_quadlet'}
pat = re.compile(r'<<(.*?)>>', re.DOTALL)
bad = []
for p in pathlib.Path('docs/source/markdown/options').glob('*.md'):
    for m in pat.finditer(p.read_text()):
        inner = m.group(1).strip()
        if ' if ' in inner and ' else ' in inner:
            try:
                _, rest = inner.split(' if ', 1)
                cond = rest.split(' else ', 1)[0].strip()
                var = cond[4:].strip() if cond.startswith('not ') else cond
                if var not in ALLOWED:
                    bad.append(f'{p}: inline cond {cond!r} is not a defined variable')
            except ValueError:
                bad.append(f'{p}: unparseable inline conditional {inner!r}')
if bad:
    sys.exit('\n'.join(bad))

try:
    rendered = pre.render(text, {'is_quadlet': is_quadlet})
except ValueError as e:
    cause = e.__cause__  # underlying failure, e.g. undefined variable
    raise SystemExit(f'{path}: {e} (cause: {cause})') from None

When it happens

Trigger: A token like '<< "ps" if is quadlet else "podman" >>' (multi-word cond), '<< X if a == b else Y >>', or any cond that is not exactly 'is_quadlet'/'not is_quadlet'. Also triggered by prose inside <<...>> that incidentally contains the words ' if ' and ' else ' (e.g. explaining shell syntax), which the parser then misreads as an inline conditional.

Common situations: Writing man-page prose about shell if/else keywords inside double-angle tokens; trying boolean expressions the mini-template does not support; using an undefined variable name in the short form.

Related errors

• undefined variable: {name}
• `else` without `if`
• multiple `else` in the same `if`
• `end` without `if`
• unclosed `if` block(s)

AI-assisted analysis of podman-container-tools/podman@a2409076ef (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fd7b40e02c9c5e46. Report an issue: GitHub.