Validation checks

The complete catalog of check families. Each issue in the validation bar carries its family code; every row navigates to the offending entity. Errors are broken wiring; warnings are story smells — and the editor never blocks a save on either. CI draws the line with ci-check (--strict to fail warnings too).

Shape & wiring

Code	Severity	Fires when	Fix by
`SCHEMA`	error	A field fails JSON Schema validation — wrong type, missing required key, unknown enum	Correcting the field; the schemas are the format's ground truth
`REF`	error	Any reference names an id that doesn't exist — a choice's `goto`, a ladder rung's dialogue, a `factionId`, a condition's flag	Re-pointing or creating the target. The reference index finds every usage of an id
`DUP`	error	Duplicate ids — entities, dialogue nodes/choices, or a location's spawns/exits/interactables	Renaming one of the twins

Dialogue flow

Code	Severity	Fires when	Fix by
`FLOW`	warning	A dialogue has an unreachable node or a dead-end choice	Wiring the node in, or marking an intended terminal Is End
`REACH`	warning	A node can't be reached from the dialogue's `entry`	Connecting it or deleting it — the Pacing panel spots these too
`GATE`	error	An active check is missing its `onSuccess` / `onFailure` destination	Dragging both the green and red handles somewhere

State

Code	Severity	Fires when	Fix by
`FLAG`	warning	A flag is written but never read, or read but never written	Deleting the orphan or wiring the missing half — the variable's Flow panel shows both directions
`REP`	error	A reputation reference names an unknown faction	Fixing the faction id

Structure

Code	Severity	Fires when	Fix by
`QUEST`	warning/error	Quest stage issues — notably stage/outcome effects with no condition (`completeWhen`/`reachedWhen`), which can never fire; outcome reference cycles are errors	Adding the condition; quest resolution only fires condition-gated items (why)
`ENDING`	warning	An ending is unreachable — no path leads to it	Wiring the path, or retiring the ending
`COVERAGE`	warning	A character has no dialogue	Giving them a ladder — or accepting silence knowingly
`LOC`	warning	Location graph issues — a bad exit spawn, a spawn nothing arrives at, more than one default spawn, gate/gateType mismatch, an unreachable location, an npc interactable whose character can't speak	Following the message; the location map shows the topology
`CUT`	warning	Cutscene issues — unknown `entersDialogue`, a cutscene nothing triggers, or two `play_cutscene` effects racing on one node	Fixing the reference or the ordering
`LADDER`	warning	Ladder shape mistakes — dead rung (unconditional, not last), stuck rung (top rung unconditional and effectful — re-fires forever), no fallthrough (last rung gated). A rung's dangling dialogue is a `REF` error	Reordering; the deep dive shows each shape with examples

Content & progression

Code	Severity	Fires when	Fix by
`LORE`	error	A `loreRef` points at a file that doesn't exist	Fixing the path — the form's file dropdown exists so this can't be typed wrong
`PROG`	warning/error	Progression config problems — thresholds not strictly increasing, `pointsPerLevel`/`maxSkill` < 1 (errors), a starting skill already at the ceiling, or authored XP generous enough to max every skill (the soft-cap sanity warning)	Adjusting `progression.json`
`XP`	warning	A `grant_xp` with a non-positive amount, or authored outside a quest outcome (advisory — the convention is XP from quests only)	Moving the grant, or granting something
`CHECK`	warning	Priced-check discipline — a `priced` active check whose failure branch doesn't proceed, or a priced-gate failure that sets a flag some ladder reads (the punishment-spiral advisory). `oneshot` checks are exempt	Giving failure somewhere to go — failure is content

Reading the output

In the editor: errors first, then warnings, filter chips per code, click to navigate. In CI: the same list grouped by family, with counts, and exit codes your pipeline can gate on (tutorial).

Two implementations produce this list — the TypeScript validator (editor + CI) and the independent Python one — kept in enforced parity, so the list you read is the list, everywhere.