What causes "intact series must parse" in rtk-ai/rtk?

Print the parser's error message (`expect` swallows context) by replacing the expect with a match that logs `err` and the input series.

rtk-ai/rtk · warning

intact series must parse

Error message

intact series must parse

What it means

Test panic from `.expect("intact series must parse")`: `condense_unified_diff_strict` returned `Err` on a format-patch series that should still be parseable after a block is restored mid-series. The strict parser refuses input whose structure (bullets, separators, diffstat boundary) it cannot trust, and the test guarantees a well-formed intact series is accepted, with the restored y.txt file reported and no prose misclassified as bullets.

Solutions

Print the parser's error message (`expect` swallows context) by replacing the expect with a match that logs `err` and the input series.
Verify the bullet/separator tolerance logic still terminates the prose window at the diffstat line, not earlier.
If intentionally stricter, update the test fixture to a shape the strict parser accepts.

Example fix

// before
let out = condense_unified_diff_strict(&intact).expect("intact series must parse");
// after
let out = condense_unified_diff_strict(&intact)
    .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("intact series must parse: {e}\ninput:\n{intact}"));

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// sanity-check the series shape before strict parsing
assert!(series.contains("diff --git ") && series.contains("@@ -1 +1 @@"));

Try / catch

let out = condense_unified_diff_strict(&intact)
    .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("intact series must parse: {e}\ninput:\n{intact}"));

Prevention

Always surface the parser's error message inside expect/panic, never a bare string
Add every real-world series shape (kernel/b4) as a fixture
Document where the strict tolerance window ends (diffstat, not ---)

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `condense_unified_diff_strict` with a multi-file format-patch body where inserting `diff --git a/y.txt b/y.txt ... -p +q` before an existing block makes the strict parser bail (e.g. bullet tolerance window exceeded or separator detection fails).

Common situations: Kernel/b4-style patch series with version notes and multiple diff blocks; regressions introduced when tightening strict-mode tolerance so it ends at the diffstat rather than at `---`.

Understand the failure class

Background: "This is a bug, please report it": internal invariant violations, unreachable panics, and SNH errors explained — this error's family across 47 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of rtk-ai/rtk@0924356b4c (2026-09-19). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cafb09ce23fa3799. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/cmds/git/diff_cmd.rs:6894

    #[test]
    fn mbox_marked_lines_past_the_diffstat_fall_back_to_raw() {
        // A format-patch series with the second patch's `diff --git` /
        // `---` / `+++` / `@@` block stripped (a hand-edited patch, a mail
        // client's reflow). The orphaned hunk body sits in the mbox message
        // region past the diffstat, where the prose exemption used to
        // swallow it; nothing in the output suggested it was incomplete.
        let series = "From fe6a6d0d8316535b5ac232f5d7cc6d227b187b9e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001\nSubject: [PATCH 1/2] one\n\n- a bullet in the message\n---\n x.txt | 2 +-\n 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)\n\ndiff --git a/x.txt b/x.txt\n--- a/x.txt\n+++ b/x.txt\n@@ -1 +1 @@\n-a\n+b\n-- \n2.54.0\n\nFrom 0e7632a01b00c70cbc9dafcf1f23c71fa6b10de1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001\nSubject: [PATCH 2/2] two\n\n- another bullet\n---\n y.txt | 2 +-\n 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)\n\n-p\n+q\n-- \n2.54.0\n";
        assert!(
            condense_unified_diff_strict(series).is_none(),
            "orphaned hunk body in an mbox region was dropped"
        );
        // The intact series (with the block restored) still parses, bullets
        // and separators included, and the signature is not counted.
        let intact = series.replace(
            "\n-p\n+q\n",
            "\ndiff --git a/y.txt b/y.txt\n--- a/y.txt\n+++ b/y.txt\n@@ -1 +1 @@\n-p\n+q\n",
        );
        let out = condense_unified_diff_strict(&intact).expect("intact series must parse");
        assert!(out.contains("[file] y.txt (+1 -1)"), "got:\n{out}");
        assert!(!out.contains("bullet"), "got:\n{out}");
        // Version notes between `---` and the diffstat (the kernel / b4
        // convention) are column-0 bullets past the separator; they must
        // stay prose, which is why the tolerance ends at the diffstat and
        // not at `---`.
        let notes = intact.replace(
            "---\n y.txt | 2 +-",
            "---\nChanges in v2:\n- rebased\n- dropped the hack\n\n y.txt | 2 +-",
        );
        let out = condense_unified_diff_strict(&notes).expect("version notes must stay prose");
        assert!(out.contains("[file] y.txt (+1 -1)"), "got:\n{out}");
        assert!(!out.contains("rebased"), "got:\n{out}");
    }

    #[test]
    fn a_prose_table_is_not_a_diffstat() {
        // A markdown table in the commit message is space-indented and holds

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