Error-FlowStudio-100090

What It Means

Flow Studio attempted to load a node template definition from the database, but the ContentData field contains invalid JSON that cannot be parsed. This means:

• The JSON syntax is malformed (missing comma, unclosed bracket, etc.)
• The template cannot be displayed in the workflow editor
• The node will not be available for users to drag into workflows
• The error is logged but does not crash the application (graceful degradation)

Common Causes

1. Missing Comma in JSON (Most Common)

   A property is missing a comma before the next property:

   "category": "social"
   "headerImageUrl": "..."  ← Missing comma after "social"

2. Unescaped Quotes in String Values

   String values containing quotes must be escaped:

   "description": "This is a "bad" example"  ← Quotes not escaped

3. Unclosed Brackets or Braces

   JSON structure missing closing brackets or braces.

4. Trailing Commas

   Extra comma after the last property in an object or array:

   {"name": "value",}  ← Trailing comma

5. Invalid Characters

   Control characters, line breaks, or other invalid JSON content.

6. Incomplete Data Seeding

   Template data was manually inserted into the database without proper JSON validation.

How to Fix

Step 1: Identify the Affected Template

Check the browser console for the error message. It will show:

Template Name: TikTok Video Upload Init
Template ID: 10000239
JSON Parse Error: Unexpected token '}' at position 245

Step 2: Locate the SQL Data File

Find the corresponding SQL file in the data templates directory:

C:\BizFirstGO_FI_AI\BizFirstFiDB\[DatabaseName]\dbo\Data\projects\[ProjectFolder]\DataTemplates\
Template_DataTemplates_{ID}_[name].data.sql

For example: Template_DataTemplates_10000239_tiktok-video-upload-init.data.sql

Step 3: Extract and Validate the JSON

Open the SQL file and find the @ContentData declaration. Copy the JSON content to a validator:

• Online: JSONLint.com
• VS Code: Install "JSON Formatter" extension and press Shift+Alt+F
• Command line: jq . file.json

Step 4: Fix the JSON Syntax Error

Common fixes:

• Add missing comma: "category": "social" → "category": "social",
• Remove trailing comma: {"key": "value",} → {"key": "value"}
• Escape quotes: "description": "It's good" → "description": "It\'s good"
• Fix N'' string prefix: In SQL, use N'{"json": "..."}' for Unicode strings

Step 5: Revalidate the JSON

After fixing, validate again using the tools from Step 3.

Step 6: Re-deploy the Database

Run the corrected SQL script against your database to update the template:

sqlcmd -S [server] -d [database] -i "Template_DataTemplates_10000239_[name].data.sql"

Step 7: Refresh Flow Studio

Restart the Flow Studio app or refresh the browser. The console error should no longer appear.

Examples

Example 1: Missing Comma (The TikTok Case)

❌ Before (Invalid):

{
  "category": "social"
  "headerImageUrl": "https://..."
}

✅ After (Fixed):

{
  "category": "social",
  "headerImageUrl": "https://..."
}

Example 2: Unescaped Quotes

❌ Before (Invalid):

DECLARE @ContentData NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'{
  "description": "Upload the "video" file"
}'

✅ After (Fixed):

DECLARE @ContentData NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'{
  "description": "Upload the \"video\" file"
}'

Example 3: Trailing Comma

❌ Before (Invalid):

{
  "name": "My Node",
  "type": "tool",
}

✅ After (Fixed):

{
  "name": "My Node",
  "type": "tool"
}

Prevention

For Developers Adding New Templates

1. Validate JSON First

   Use JSONLint or VS Code to validate before inserting into SQL.

2. Use Proper SQL String Escaping

   In SQL, double quotes must be escaped as \" in N'' strings.

3. Test Before Deployment

   Run SQL scripts in a dev database first. Check the browser console for errors.

4. Use Code Review

   Have another developer review SQL data files before merging to main branch.

5. Automate Validation

   Add a pre-commit hook to validate JSON in all .data.sql files:

   #!/bin/bash
   # In .git/hooks/pre-commit
   find . -name "*.data.sql" -exec jq -e . {} \; || exit 1

For DevOps / Database Admins

1. Monitor Logs

   Set up alerts for Error-FlowStudio-100090 in application logs.

2. Validate on Import

   Before seeding data, run: jq '.[].ContentData | fromjson' data.json

3. Backup Before Updates

   Always backup the Template_DataTemplates table before running update scripts.

Troubleshooting Checklist

• ☑ Check browser console for the full error message (with template name and ID)
• ☑ Locate the SQL data file for the failing template
• ☑ Extract the @ContentData JSON string
• ☑ Validate JSON using JSONLint or jq
• ☑ Identify and fix the syntax error
• ☑ Re-validate after fixing
• ☑ Update the SQL file and re-deploy
• ☑ Refresh Flow Studio and verify the error is gone

Related Errors

• Error-FlowStudio-100091 — Template Schema Validation Failed
• Error-FlowStudio-100092 — Missing Required Template Fields

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