tinyhumansai/openhuman · error · anyhow::Error

edit[{i}]: missing `old_string`

Error message

edit[{i}]: missing `old_string`

What it means

Guard while parsing apply_patch edits: edit[{i}] has a `path` but no string `old_string`, so the text to replace is unknown. The tool is an exact-match replacer and cannot proceed without the anchor text.

Source

Thrown at src/openhuman/tools/impl/filesystem/apply_patch.rs:140

        if !self.security.record_action() {
            return Ok(ToolResult::error(
                "Rate limit exceeded: action budget exhausted",
            ));
        }

        let path_policy = super::security_for_tool_context(&self.security, context, "apply_patch");

        // Parse + group edits by file.
        let mut parsed: Vec<ParsedEdit> = Vec::with_capacity(edits.len());
        for (i, raw) in edits.iter().enumerate() {
            let path = raw
                .get("path")
                .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("edit[{i}]: missing `path`"))?;
            let old_string = raw
                .get("old_string")
                .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("edit[{i}]: missing `old_string`"))?;
            let new_string = raw
                .get("new_string")
                .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("edit[{i}]: missing `new_string`"))?;
            let replace_all = raw
                .get("replace_all")
                .and_then(|v| v.as_bool())
                .unwrap_or(false);

            if old_string.is_empty() {
                return Ok(ToolResult::error(format!(
                    "edit[{i}]: `old_string` must not be empty"
                )));
            }
            if !path_policy.is_path_string_allowed(path) {
                return Ok(ToolResult::error(format!(
                    "edit[{i}]: path not allowed: {path}"
                )));

View on GitHub (pinned to 7491200858)

Solutions

1. Add `old_string` with the exact current text to edit[{i}]
2. Make old_string unique enough to match once

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at src/openhuman/tools/impl/filesystem/apply_patch.rs:140 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of tinyhumansai/openhuman@7491200858 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e079cc8b0143f3b0. Report an issue: GitHub.