Validation Errors

If the DSL parser reports errors, follow these steps to diagnose and fix them.

Common validation errors

Error	Cause	Fix
Unexpected token	Typo or missing brace/quote	Check the reported line for syntax issues
Unknown identifier	Referencing an element that isn’t defined	Ensure the element is defined with = before use
Duplicate key	Two views or elements share the same key	Rename one to be unique
Missing required block	model or views block is absent	Add the missing block to your workspace

How to validate

VS Code extension:

1. Open the Command Palette → ArchTect: Validate Architecture.
2. The editor highlights errors inline with line numbers.
3. Fix the reported issues and re-validate.

Browser app:

• Validation errors appear in the editor diagnostics panel automatically when you edit the DSL.

Tips

• Start simple — If you have many errors, comment out sections with // and fix one at a time.
• Check braces — Most parse errors come from unmatched { } braces. Count them carefully.
• Quote strings — Element names and descriptions must be quoted with "double quotes".
• Check the DSL reference — For syntax rules, see the DSL Support Matrix or the Structurizr DSL reference.