fix: schema validation errors report correct line number and cleaner message prefix by Copilot · Pull Request #21853 · github/gh-aw

Copilot · 2026-03-19T20:41:43Z

Schema validation errors (e.g. timeout-minutes: -10) always reported file.md:1:1 — non-navigable in IDEs — and used a confusing double-wrapped prefix: "workflow schema validation failed: GitHub Actions schema validation failed: ...".

Changes

schema_validation.go — adds extractSchemaErrorField(err error) string that unwraps the error chain to find *jsonschema.ValidationError and returns InstanceLocation[0] (the top-level frontmatter field name)
compiler.go — schema validation error handler now:
- calls extractSchemaErrorField → findFrontmatterFieldLine to resolve the actual source line
- uses formatCompilerErrorWithPosition instead of the 1:1-defaulting formatCompilerError
- simplifies outer prefix from "workflow schema validation failed: %v" → "invalid workflow: %v"
schema_validation_test.go — adds TestExtractSchemaErrorField (4 cases)

Before / After

# Before
test-3.md:1:1: error: workflow schema validation failed: GitHub Actions schema validation failed: timeout-minutes: must be >= 1. Example: timeout-minutes: 10

# After  (timeout-minutes is on line 3)
test-3.md:3:1: error: invalid workflow: GitHub Actions schema validation failed: timeout-minutes: must be >= 1. Example: timeout-minutes: 10

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- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/actions/ai-inference/git/ref/tags/v1 --jq .object.sha .github/workflows/test.md -dwarf=false /usr/bin/git go1.25.0 -c=4 -nolocalimports git rev-�� --git-dir /tmp/go-build596525133/b444/_testmain.go /usr/bin/git -json GO111MODULE 64/bin/go git (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/actions/checkout/git/ref/tags/v3
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https://api.github.com/repos/actions/checkout/git/ref/tags/v5
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- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/actions/checkout/git/ref/tags/v5 --jq .object.sha --show-toplevel go /usr/bin/git ck '**/*.cjs' '*git GO111MODULE x_amd64/link git rev-�� --show-toplevel x_amd64/link /usr/bin/git ty-test.md GO111MODULE 64/bin/go git (http block)
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/actions/checkout/git/ref/tags/v5 --jq .object.sha --show-toplevel -LK3hfDROvx2ta8kc2/KAnT4TXoRpWe4ez6Z6Wt/9qGKYg50remote.origin.url /usr/bin/git -json GO111MODULE _.a git rev-�� --show-toplevel go /usr/bin/git -json GO111MODULE ache/go/1.25.0/x--show-toplevel git (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/actions/checkout/git/ref/tags/v6
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https://api.github.com/repos/actions/github-script/git/ref/tags/v8
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- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/actions/github-script/git/ref/tags/v8 --jq .object.sha -json GO111MODULE n-dir/node GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE VNgnGPLEQds7 0/x6�� -json GO111MODULE 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go (http block)
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/actions/github-script/git/ref/tags/v8 --jq .object.sha -json GO111MODULE ules/.bin/sh GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go env */*.ts' '**/*.jsGOINSECURE GO111MODULE 64/pkg/tool/linuGOMODCACHE GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE 64/pkg/tool/linuGOPROXY (http block)
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- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh run list --json databaseId,number,url,status,conclusion,workflowName,createdAt,startedAt,updatedAt,event,headBranch,headSha,displayTitle --workflow nonexistent-workflow-12345 --limit 6 GOMOD GOMODCACHE go stlo�� -json GO111MODULE 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE sh (http block)
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- Triggering command: /tmp/go-build596525133/b399/cli.test /tmp/go-build596525133/b399/cli.test -test.testlogfile=/tmp/go-build596525133/b399/testlog.txt -test.paniconexit0 -test.v=true -test.parallel=4 -test.timeout=10m0s -test.run=^Test -test.short=true GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go env -json GO111MODULE 64/bin/node GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go (http block)
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- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v2.0.0 --jq .object.sha '**/*.ts' '**/*.GOINSECURE GO111MODULE ache/go/1.25.0/xGOMODCACHE GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go env .js' --ignore-pa-p GO111MODULE 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go (http block)
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v2.0.0 --jq .object.sha '**/*.ts' '**/*.GOINSECURE GO111MODULE ache/go/1.25.0/xGOMODCACHE GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go 8d51�� -json GO111MODULE 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go (http block)
https://api.github.com/repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v3.0.0
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v3.0.0 --jq .object.sha '**/*.ts' '**/*.GOINSECURE GO111MODULE ache/go/1.25.0/xGOMODCACHE GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go env .js' --ignore-pa-errorsas GO111MODULE 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go (http block)
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https://api.github.com/repos/nonexistent/repo/actions/runs/12345
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- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh workflow list --json name,state,path --repo owner/repo 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go env -json GO111MODULE tions/setup/js/nGOMODCACHE GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go (http block)
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh workflow list --json name,state,path --repo owner/repo 64/bin/go GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go env -json GO111MODULE bin/node GOINSECURE GOMOD GOMODCACHE go (http block)
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh workflow list --repo owner/repo --json name,path,state /usr/bin/gh g/sliceutil/slicgit g/sliceutil/slicrev-parse (http block)
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https://api.github.com/repos/test/repo
- Triggering command: /usr/bin/gh gh api /repos/test/repo --jq .default_branch --show-toplevel ache/go/1.25.0/x64/pkg/tool/linux_amd64/vet /usr/bin/git -json GO111MODULE Name,createdAt,s--show-toplevel git rev-�� --show-toplevel go /usr/bin/git runs/20260319-20git GO111MODULE ache/go/1.25.0/x--show-toplevel git (http block)

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…and cleaner prefixes - Add extractSchemaErrorField() to extract top-level field name from *jsonschema.ValidationError - Use formatCompilerErrorWithPosition with actual field line instead of defaulting to 1:1 - Change 'workflow schema validation failed: GitHub Actions schema validation failed:' to 'invalid workflow: GitHub Actions schema validation failed:' to remove confusing double-prefix - Add TestExtractSchemaErrorField with 4 test cases Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Fixes schema validation diagnostics so they report a navigable source position in the workflow markdown (instead of always :1:1) and simplifies the outer error prefix for clarity.

Changes:

Add extractSchemaErrorField(err) to derive the top-level failing frontmatter key from *jsonschema.ValidationError.
Update schema validation error handling to resolve the failing field’s line in frontmatter and format errors with that position.
Add unit tests for extractSchemaErrorField covering wrapped errors and edge cases.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File	Description
pkg/workflow/schema_validation.go	Adds helper to extract the top-level failing field from schema validation errors.
pkg/workflow/compiler.go	Uses extracted field name + frontmatter line lookup to emit positioned, IDE-navigable errors and a cleaner prefix.
pkg/workflow/schema_validation_test.go	Adds targeted unit tests for the new error-field extraction helper.

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Copilot AI assigned Copilot and pelikhan Mar 19, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan March 19, 2026 20:41 View session

Copilot AI linked an issue Mar 19, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request

[syntax-error-quality] Daily Syntax Error Quality Check — 2026-03-19 #21839

Closed

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Improve error messaging for syntax quality checks~~ fix: schema validation errors report correct line number and cleaner message prefix Mar 19, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan March 19, 2026 21:00

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan March 19, 2026 21:00

pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review March 19, 2026 21:33

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 19, 2026 21:33

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of pelikhan March 19, 2026 21:34 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Mar 19, 2026

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Merge branch 'main' into copilot/syntax-error-quality-update

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pelikhan merged commit 550245d into main Mar 19, 2026
49 checks passed

pelikhan deleted the copilot/syntax-error-quality-update branch March 19, 2026 21:36

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fix: schema validation errors report correct line number and cleaner message prefix#21853

fix: schema validation errors report correct line number and cleaner message prefix#21853
pelikhan merged 3 commits intomainfrom
copilot/syntax-error-quality-update

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Copilot AI commented Mar 19, 2026 •

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