CLI - architecture.json generation failing (without error) (non-github invocation)

[jamesdlevine]

Using the commandline below, architecture.json generation fails, with a non-error exit code. See stdout output below.

No file(s) are generated.

core file:
pdd-core-20260314T044311Z.json

commandline:

pdd --strength 0.88 --local --force generate --template architecture/architecture_json -e PRD_FILE=/Users/james/bookmarks-arch-test/PRD.md -e APP_NAME=My Bookmarks App --output architecture.json

stdout:

Checking for updates...
Using .pddrc context: default
Input files:
  prompt_file     
/Users/james/miniconda/envs/pdd-vscode-extension/lib/python3.12/site-packages/pd
d/templates/architecture/architecture_json.prompt
Output files:
  output          /Users/james/architecture.json
Detected language: json
Basename: architecture
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Starting prompt preprocessing                                                │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
Processing XML include: ./${PRD_FILE}
Warning: File not found: ${PRD_FILE}
Processing XML include: ./${TECH_STACK_FILE}
Warning: File not found: ${TECH_STACK_FILE}
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Preprocessing complete                                                       │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Starting prompt preprocessing                                                │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
Processing XML include: /Users/james/bookmarks-arch-test/PRD.md
Processing XML include: ./${TECH_STACK_FILE}
Warning: File not found: ${TECH_STACK_FILE}
Including (many): ./${DOC_FILES}
Warning: File not found: ${DOC_FILES}
Including (many): ./${INCLUDE_FILES}
Warning: File not found: ${INCLUDE_FILES}
Doubling curly brackets...
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Preprocessing complete                                                       │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
Successfully loaded prompt: unfinished_prompt_LLM
Post-process failed (rc=1). Stderr:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File 
"/Users/james/miniconda/envs/pdd-vscode-extension/lib/python3.12/site-packages/p
dd/render_mermaid.py", line 224, in <module>
    with open(arch_file) as f:
         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 
'{/Users/james/architecture.json}'

Generated code saved to: /Users/james/architecture.json
✅ Generated: /Users/james/architecture_diagram.html

--- Command Execution Summary ---
  Step 1 (generate): Cost: $0.817990, Model: claude-opus-4-6
Total Estimated Cost: $0.817990
-------------------------------------
📦 Debug snapshot saved to 
/Users/james/.pdd/core_dumps/pdd-core-20260314T044311Z.json (attach when 
reporting bugs)```


stderr:

2026-03-13 21:38:36,800 - pdd.llm_invoke - INFO - Loaded model data from package default
INFO: Loaded model data from package default
2026-03-13 21:38:36,805 - pdd.llm_invoke - WARNING - Multi-credential provider for model 'anthropic.claude-opus-4-6-v1' is missing env vars: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_REGION_NAME. Run 'pdd setup' to configure.
WARNING: Multi-credential provider for model 'anthropic.claude-opus-4-6-v1' is missing env vars: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_REGION_NAME. Run 'pdd setup' to configure.
2026-03-13 21:38:36,805 - pdd.llm_invoke - WARNING - Skipping GitHub Copilot model 'github_copilot/claude-opus-4.6-fast' in --force mode: no OAuth token found at /Users/james/.config/litellm/github_copilot/api-key.json. Run 'pdd setup' to authenticate.
WARNING: Skipping GitHub Copilot model 'github_copilot/claude-opus-4.6-fast' in --force mode: no OAuth token found at /Users/james/.config/litellm/github_copilot/api-key.json. Run 'pdd setup' to authenticate.
2026-03-13 21:38:36,805 - pdd.llm_invoke - WARNING - API key environment variable 'VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY' for model 'vercel_ai_gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6' is not set.
WARNING: API key environment variable 'VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY' for model 'vercel_ai_gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6' is not set.
2026-03-13 21:38:36,805 - pdd.llm_invoke - ERROR - API key 'VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY' not set. In --force mode, skipping interactive prompt.
ERROR: API key 'VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY' not set. In --force mode, skipping interactive prompt.
2026-03-13 21:38:36,805 - pdd.llm_invoke - WARNING - Multi-credential provider for model 'vertex_ai/claude-opus-4-6' is missing env vars: GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS, VERTEXAI_PROJECT, VERTEXAI_LOCATION. Run 'pdd setup' to configure.
WARNING: Multi-credential provider for model 'vertex_ai/claude-opus-4-6' is missing env vars: GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS, VERTEXAI_PROJECT, VERTEXAI_LOCATION. Run 'pdd setup' to configure.
�[92m21:38:36 - LiteLLM:INFO�[0m: utils.py:3932 -
LiteLLM completion() model= claude-opus-4-6; provider = anthropic
INFO:
LiteLLM completion() model= claude-opus-4-6; provider = anthropic
�[92m21:43:04 - LiteLLM:INFO�[0m: utils.py:1656 - Wrapper: Completed Call, calling success_handler
INFO: Wrapper: Completed Call, calling success_handler
2026-03-13 21:43:04,700 - pdd.llm_invoke - INFO - Loaded model data from package default
INFO: Loaded model data from package default
2026-03-13 21:43:04,703 - pdd.llm_invoke - WARNING - Multi-credential provider for model 'anthropic.claude-opus-4-6-v1' is missing env vars: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_REGION_NAME. Run 'pdd setup' to configure.
WARNING: Multi-credential provider for model 'anthropic.claude-opus-4-6-v1' is missing env vars: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_REGION_NAME. Run 'pdd setup' to configure.
2026-03-13 21:43:04,703 - pdd.llm_invoke - WARNING - Skipping GitHub Copilot model 'github_copilot/claude-opus-4.6-fast' in --force mode: no OAuth token found at /Users/james/.config/litellm/github_copilot/api-key.json. Run 'pdd setup' to authenticate.
WARNING: Skipping GitHub Copilot model 'github_copilot/claude-opus-4.6-fast' in --force mode: no OAuth token found at /Users/james/.config/litellm/github_copilot/api-key.json. Run 'pdd setup' to authenticate.
2026-03-13 21:43:04,703 - pdd.llm_invoke - WARNING - API key environment variable 'VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY' for model 'vercel_ai_gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6' is not set.
WARNING: API key environment variable 'VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY' for model 'vercel_ai_gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6' is not set.
2026-03-13 21:43:04,703 - pdd.llm_invoke - ERROR - API key 'VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY' not set. In --force mode, skipping interactive prompt.
ERROR: API key 'VERCEL_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY' not set. In --force mode, skipping interactive prompt.
2026-03-13 21:43:04,703 - pdd.llm_invoke - WARNING - Multi-credential provider for model 'vertex_ai/claude-opus-4-6' is missing env vars: GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS, VERTEXAI_PROJECT, VERTEXAI_LOCATION. Run 'pdd setup' to configure.
WARNING: Multi-credential provider for model 'vertex_ai/claude-opus-4-6' is missing env vars: GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS, VERTEXAI_PROJECT, VERTEXAI_LOCATION. Run 'pdd setup' to configure.
�[92m21:43:04 - LiteLLM:INFO�[0m: utils.py:3932 -
LiteLLM completion() model= claude-opus-4-6; provider = anthropic
INFO:
LiteLLM completion() model= claude-opus-4-6; provider = anthropic
�[92m21:43:11 - LiteLLM:INFO�[0m: utils.py:1656 - Wrapper: Completed Call, calling success_handler
INFO: Wrapper: Completed Call, calling success_handler

[prompt-driven-github]

3/30/2026

[Serhan-Asad]

Step 1: Duplicate Check

Status: No duplicates found

Search Performed

• Searched for: architecture.json, render_mermaid, post-process failed, FileNotFoundError curly, curly braces path, output path braces, post-process rc=1, non-github invocation, APP_NAME, arch_file curly, exit code generate
• Issues reviewed: 15+ candidates across open and closed issues

Candidates Evaluated

Issue	Title	Verdict
#82	Failure generating architecture.json using template	Not duplicate — JSON schema validation error, different root cause
#321	Template generation failed: Generated output is not valid json	Not duplicate — invalid JSON output, different failure mode
#622	pdd test crashes with KeyError when context/test.prompt contains curly braces	Not duplicate — related to brace handling in str.format() but different mechanism (prompt content vs output path)
#409	Environment Variable Pollution: -e flag variables persist after command completion	Not duplicate — env variable lifecycle issue, unrelated
#411	XSS Vulnerability in Mermaid Diagram Tooltips	Not duplicate — security issue in diagram rendering, unrelated

Findings

This is a new, unique issue. The specific bug is that the output file path gets wrapped in curly braces when passed to render_mermaid.py:

FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '{/Users/james/architecture.json}'

The "Doubling curly brackets..." preprocessing step likely corrupts the output path, causing the post-process script to receive '{/path}' instead of /path. While #622 and related issues addressed curly brace handling in prompt content, no existing issue covers curly brace corruption of the output file path passed to post-processing scripts.

Additionally, the command exits with a non-error code despite the post-process failure (rc=1), which is a secondary issue (exit code masking).

---

Proceeding to Step 2: Documentation Check

[prompt-driven-github]

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