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Two unhelpful parse messages in workflow MDL (reserved activity name close, exposed before returns) #1533

Closed
ako/mxcli
#1430

Description

@MendixMau

Summary

Two unhelpful parse messages in workflow MDL.

  1. An activity named close (for example call microflow M.ACT_Close as close) gives a bare parse error because close is a keyword. Measured on v0.27.0: "mismatched input 'close' expecting {IDENTIFIER, QUOTED_IDENTIFIER}". The message should say the name is reserved.
  2. A microflow with exposed as workflow action written before returns Boolean as $X fails with "mismatched input 'returns' expecting STRING_LITERAL" on v0.27.0 (reported as "expecting BEGIN" on v0.26.0). The order must be returns first. A hint such as "returns must come before exposed" would save a round trip. Without the hint the error reads as if exposed microflows cannot return a value, which is wrong: Boolean and enumeration returns both work in the right order.

Tested with: mxcli v0.27.0 (mxcli check, both messages re-measured), Mendix 11.15.

Activity

  1. github-actions commented on Oct 16, 2026

    @github-actions

    Issue Triage

    Summary:
    The user reports two unclear parse errors in workflow MDL when using mxcli check: a reserved‑word activity name (close) and an ordering issue with exposed before returns.

    Checklist of required bug‑report information

    Required info Present? Details
    mxcli version ✅ v0.27.0
    Mendix version ✅ 11.15
    Scenario (what was being done) ✅ Running mxcli check on workflow MDL with an activity named close and a microflow having exposed as workflow action before returns Boolean as $X
    Expected output ✅ Clearer error messages: “name is reserved” for close and a hint that returns must come before exposed
    Experienced output ✅ Bare parse errors: “mismatched input 'close' expecting …” and “mismatched input 'returns' expecting STRING_LITERAL”
    AI bug report (mxcli diag --bundle or session log) ❌ Not provided

    Missing information:
    Please provide the session log or the output of mxcli diag --bundle (or at least the relevant log excerpt) so we can examine the parsing context and reproduce the issue.

    Thank you for reporting this—adding the diagnostic log will help us improve the error messages quickly!


    Automated triage via OpenRouter — workflow source

  2. added a commit that references this issue on Oct 16, 2026
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