santifer/career-ops · error · Error

payload.cv requires { section, entry }

Error message

payload.cv requires { section, entry }

What it means

Per-target validation inside `applyAdd` for the `cv` payload: when `payload.cv` is provided, it must contain both `section` and `entry`. Thrown before any dedup or I/O, because without a target section and content there is nothing to insert into `cv.md`.

Source

Thrown at add-entry.mjs:156

}

/**
 * Pure core: given the current file contents and a payload, compute the new
 * contents and a per-target status. No I/O — this is what the tests exercise.
 * @returns {{ cv: string, articleDigest: string, result: object }}
 */
export function applyAdd(payload, { cvText = null, articleText = null } = {}) {
  if (!payload || typeof payload !== 'object' || (!payload.cv && !payload.articleDigest)) {
    throw new Error('payload must include at least one of: cv, articleDigest');
  }

  const result = {};
  let cv = cvText;
  let articleDigest = articleText;

  if (payload.cv) {
    const { section, dedupKey, entry } = payload.cv;
    if (!section || !entry) throw new Error('payload.cv requires { section, entry }');
    // dedupKey is what makes the insert idempotent — refuse to add without one
    // rather than silently allowing duplicate re-runs.
    if (!normalizeKey(dedupKey)) throw new Error('payload.cv requires a non-empty dedupKey (used for dedup/idempotency)');
    if (cvText === null) throw new Error(`cv.md not found — cannot add to a CV that does not exist`);
    if (cvHasEntry(cvText, section, dedupKey)) {
      result.cv = { status: 'duplicate', section };
    } else {
      cv = insertIntoCvSection(cvText, section, entry);
      result.cv = { status: 'added', section };
    }
  }

  if (payload.articleDigest) {
    const { dedupKey, entry } = payload.articleDigest;
    if (!entry) throw new Error('payload.articleDigest requires { entry }');
    if (!normalizeKey(dedupKey)) throw new Error('payload.articleDigest requires a non-empty dedupKey (used for dedup/idempotency)');
    // article-digest.md is optional; create it from a header when missing.
    const current = articleText === null

View on GitHub (pinned to 9b17a8ac97)

Solutions

1. Ensure `payload.cv` includes both `section` (e.g. 'Experience', 'Projects', 'Skills') and a non-empty `entry` string.
2. Add a caller-side assert: `if (!p.cv.section || !p.cv.entry) throw ...` with a clearer message before calling applyAdd.
3. Double-check the section name matches an existing heading in `cv.md` so `insertIntoCvSection` can find it.
4. Generate the entry string eagerly — never pass a value that may be conditionally empty.
5. Cover the missing-section and missing-entry cases in unit tests.

Example fix

// before
applyAdd({ cv: { dedupKey: 'k', entry: '- Built X' } }); // throws — no section
// after
applyAdd({ cv: { section: 'Projects', dedupKey: 'x', entry: '- Built X (2024)' } });

function validateCvPayload(cv) {
  if (!cv || typeof cv !== 'object') return false;
  return typeof cv.section === 'string' && cv.section.trim() !== '' &&
         typeof cv.entry === 'string' && cv.entry.trim() !== '';
}
if (payload.cv && !validateCvPayload(payload.cv)) {
  throw new Error('payload.cv needs non-empty { section, entry }');
}

function isCvEntry(c) {
  return !!c && typeof c === 'object' &&
    typeof c.section === 'string' && c.section.trim() !== '' &&
    typeof c.entry === 'string' && c.entry.trim() !== '';
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `applyAdd({ cv: { dedupKey: 'x', entry: '...' } })` (missing `section`); `applyAdd({ cv: { section: 'Skills' } })` (missing `entry`); `applyAdd({ cv: {} })`; or any cv sub-object where one of the two is an empty/falsy value.

Common situations: Caller builds the cv object dynamically and forgets the section key; entry text is generated conditionally and comes back empty; schema drift between the agent's mental model and the function; passing the whole entry string as `section` by mistake.

Related errors

• payload must include at least one of: cv, articleDigest
• payload.cv requires a non-empty dedupKey (used for dedup/ide
• payload.articleDigest requires { entry }
• CV section order diverges from cv.md: rendered ${renderedOrd
• Application answer state must be one of: ${[...VALID_STATES]

AI-assisted analysis of santifer/career-ops@9b17a8ac97 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2140ace8d53c317b. Report an issue: GitHub.