twigphp/Twig · error · InvalidArgumentException

Using " " for the value of node " " of " " is not…

Error message

Using "%s" for the value of node "%s" of "%s" is not supported. You must pass a \Twig\Node\Node instance.

What it means

The base Node constructor validates that every child in the $nodes map is itself a Node instance; passing anything else (string, array, scalar) is rejected with an InvalidArgumentException. Twig's AST is strictly tree-structured, and the compiler relies on every child being a Node.

Solutions

1. Wrap raw values in the appropriate Node subclass (TextNode, ConstantExpression, etc.) before passing them in $nodes.
2. Move non-node data (strings, flags, config) into the $attributes constructor argument instead of $nodes.
3. Check get_debug_type($node) at the failing key to locate the offending entry.

Example fix

// before
new \Twig\Node\Node(['msg' => 'hello']);
// after
new \Twig\Node\Node(['msg' => new \Twig\Node\TextNode('hello')]);

foreach ($nodes as $name => $n) {
    if (!$n instanceof \Twig\Node\Node) throw new InvalidArgumentException("Child '$name' must be a Node");
}

function isNodeMap(array $nodes): bool { foreach ($nodes as $n) { if (!$n instanceof \Twig\Node\Node) return false; } return true; }

try {
    $node = new MyNode($children, $attributes);
} catch (\InvalidArgumentException $e) {
    // a child was not a Node; wrap raw values before constructing
}

When it happens

Trigger: Constructing any Node subclass (or Node itself, which is deprecated since 3.15) with a children array containing non-Node values, e.g. `new MyNode(['name' => 'text'])` instead of `new TextNode('text')`.

Common situations: Hand-writing custom Twig nodes/extensions; passing attributes (which belong in the $attributes argument) into the $nodes argument by mistake; instantiating Node directly after the 3.15 deprecation.

Understand the failure class

Background: Type mismatch errors: IllegalArgumentException, TypeError and type guards across 150 open-source libraries — this error's family across 150 libraries.

Related errors

• EmptyNode cannot have children.
• Left side must be ArrayExpression for object/mapping…
• The "name" attribute must be a string.
• Using " " for the macro " " of " " is not supported. You…
• A " " can only contain " " nodes; replacing the macro " "…

AI-assisted analysis of twigphp/Twig@a414c3a491 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a77be2fb243b188d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Node/Node.php:57

    /** @var array<string, NameDeprecation> */
    private $nodeNameDeprecations = [];
    /** @var array<string, NameDeprecation> */
    private $attributeNameDeprecations = [];

    /**
     * @param array<string|int, Node> $nodes      An array of named nodes
     * @param array                   $attributes An array of attributes (should not be nodes)
     * @param int                     $lineno     The line number
     */
    public function __construct(array $nodes = [], array $attributes = [], int $lineno = 0)
    {
        if (self::class === static::class) {
            trigger_deprecation('twig/twig', '3.15', \sprintf('Instantiating "%s" directly is deprecated; the class will become abstract in 4.0.', self::class));
        }

        foreach ($nodes as $name => $node) {
            if (!$node instanceof self) {
                throw new \InvalidArgumentException(\sprintf('Using "%s" for the value of node "%s" of "%s" is not supported. You must pass a \Twig\Node\Node instance.', get_debug_type($node), $name, static::class));
            }
        }
        $this->nodes = $nodes;
        $this->attributes = $attributes;
        $this->lineno = $lineno;

        if (\func_num_args() > 3) {
            trigger_deprecation('twig/twig', '3.12', \sprintf('The "tag" constructor argument of the "%s" class is deprecated and ignored (check which TokenParser class set it to "%s"), the tag is now automatically set by the Parser when needed.', static::class, func_get_arg(3) ?: 'null'));
        }
    }

    public function __toString(): string
    {
        $repr = static::class;

        if ($this->tag) {
            $repr .= \sprintf("\n  tag: %s", $this->tag);
        }

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