feat(config): add YAML source location to prompt reference errors by JustasMonkev · Pull Request #9940 · promptfoo/promptfoo

JustasMonkev · 2026-07-02T09:40:44Z

Summary

Prompt reference validation errors now point at the offending line in the configuration file.

Before

> Test #1 ("Missing prompt") references prompt "Missing Prompt" which does not exist.

(Use `node --trace-warnings ...` to show where the warning was created)

file://text-to-sql-ts/node_modules/promptfoo/dist/src/main.js:1761
                        throw new PromptReferenceValidationError(
                              `Test #${testIdx + 1}${testDesc} references prompt "${ref}" which does not exist.\nAvailable prompts: [${available.join(", ")}]`
                        );
                              ^

PromptReferenceValidationError: Test #1 ("CoT prompt includes thinking tag") references prompt "Chain of Thought & Few-Shot Examples" which does not exist.
Available prompts: [Basic]

After

> promptfooconfig.yaml:9:9: Test #1 ("Missing prompt") references prompt "Missing Prompt" which does not exist.

$ promptfoo eval -c promptfooconfig.yaml --output data/results.csv

(node:62047) ExperimentalWarning: DecompressInterceptor is experimental and subject to change
(Use `node --trace-warnings ...` to show where the warning was created)

file:///promptfoo_promptfoo/src/util/validateTestPromptReferences.ts:162
      throw new PromptReferenceValidationError(location ? `${location}: ${message}` : message);
            ^

PromptReferenceValidationError: text-to-sql-ts/promptfooconfig.yaml:35:9: Test #1 ("CoT prompt includes thinking tag") references prompt "Chain of Thought & Few-Shot Examples" which does not exist.
Available prompts: [Basic]

… errors

codecov · 2026-07-02T09:43:10Z

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 95.60440% with 4 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 79.46%. Comparing base (9a337ab) to head (7020b8b).
⚠️ Report is 11 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main    #9940      +/-   ##
==========================================
+ Coverage   79.42%   79.46%   +0.03%     
==========================================
  Files         922      924       +2     
  Lines       74008    74130     +122     
  Branches    23821    23861      +40     
==========================================
+ Hits        58784    58905     +121     
- Misses      15224    15225       +1

Flag	Coverage Δ
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site	`4.58% <ø> (+0.63%)`	⬆️

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-07-02T13:50:38Z

    testSuite.tests || [],
    testSuite.prompts,
    typeof testSuite.defaultTest === 'object' ? testSuite.defaultTest : undefined,
+    { promptReferenceSources },


Avoid using config locations for CLI-supplied tests

When --tests/--vars overrides the config tests, parsedTests comes from the CLI path (config.tests is set from cmdObj.tests || cmdObj.vars), but the validator is still given only promptReferenceSources from the config files. If the ignored config file happens to contain the same missing prompt name, the new error prefix points at that unused config line instead of the test file actually being validated, which sends users to edit the wrong source.

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-07-02T14:34:02Z

+  const column = line.indexOf(ref);
+  return column === -1 ? undefined : `${source.path}:${lineNumber}:${column + 1}`;


Avoid substring matches for prompt locations

When the missing prompt name is a substring of an earlier prompt reference in the same prompts block, this raw indexOf returns the earlier line and item.location ??= keeps it. For example, if a test lists Basic Assistant before missing Basic, and only Basic Assistant exists, the error for Basic points at the valid Basic Assistant entry instead of the bad line; the lookup should match the YAML list value rather than any substring on the line.

Useful? React with 👍 / 👎.

…ator A missing prompt whose name is a substring of a valid prompt referenced earlier in the same prompts block (e.g. 'Ghost' vs '- GhostBuster') was located via a raw indexOf, so the error pointed at the valid prompt's line. Prefer a list item whose whole value equals the ref, falling back to a substring match only when there's no exact match (keeps flow-style 'prompts: [ref]' working).

mldangelo · 2026-07-03T16:11:09Z

Reviewed and QA'd this thoroughly — the location hints are a genuinely nice DX win, and I verified the hand-rolled locator holds up well on real configs (via actual promptfoo eval runs, not just unit mocks):

block style → config.yaml:9:9 ✓
flow style (prompts: ['Missing']) → config.yaml:8:16 ✓ (points inside the flow list)
comment before the ref → correctly skips the comment line ✓
ref string also in vars → correctly points at the prompts: line, not the vars line ✓
multiple -c config files → attributes to the right file ✓

On the three Codex P2s: #1 (ref-in-vars stealing the location) is already handled by the prompts:-block restriction, and #2 (CLI-supplied --tests) degrades gracefully to no location. But #3 (substring match) was real — I reproduced it: a valid prompt GhostBuster referenced above a missing Ghost in the same block made the error point at GhostBuster's line, since refLocation used a raw indexOf.

I pushed a small fix (7020b8b1d8): the locator now prefers a list item whose whole value equals the ref, falling back to a substring match only when there's no exact one — so flow-style (prompts: [ref]) still resolves. Added a regression test for the substring case. 175 tests pass, tsc + Biome clean.

Leaving the merge to you since I added to it — ready once CI is green.

mldangelo · 2026-07-03T17:03:52Z

Thank you!

feat(config): add YAML source location to prompt reference validation…

68b257b

… errors

JustasMonkev requested a review from mldangelo-oai as a code owner July 2, 2026 09:40

chatgpt-codex-connector Bot reviewed Jul 2, 2026

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Comment thread src/util/validateTestPromptReferences.ts Outdated

fix(config): limit prompt reference location lookup to prompts entries

0008b8c

chatgpt-codex-connector Bot reviewed Jul 2, 2026

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chore: remove not needed

65db3da

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mldangelo merged commit 5f13e76 into promptfoo:main Jul 3, 2026
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promptfoobot Bot mentioned this pull request Jul 3, 2026

chore(main): release 0.121.18 #9775

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feat(config): add YAML source location to prompt reference errors#9940

feat(config): add YAML source location to prompt reference errors#9940
mldangelo merged 4 commits into
promptfoo:mainfrom
JustasMonkev:feat/prompt-ref-error-yaml-location

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		const column = line.indexOf(ref);
		return column === -1 ? undefined : `${source.path}:${lineNumber}:${column + 1}`;

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JustasMonkev commented Jul 2, 2026

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