Interpret failures

Updated Aug 05, 2026

Netsuke reports failures at the earliest stage that can identify them:

  • YAML failures include locations when the parser provides them.
  • Schema failures identify unknown or malformed fields.
  • Jinja failures identify missing variables or invalid helpers.
  • IR failures report missing rules, duplicate outputs, and cycles before Ninja starts.
  • Ninja failures retain the subprocess exit status and output.

Human diagnostics include remediation hints where one is available. JSON mode exposes the same information as fields.

The --verbose flag enables diagnostic tracing and successful timing summaries. It is suppressed in JSON mode so stderr remains parseable.