Fix error location, double prefix, and confusing paths for nested safe-outputs validation errors

cmd/gh-aw/main.go

@@ -319,12 +319,9 @@ Examples:
 			FailFast:               failFast,
 		}
 		if _, err := cli.CompileWorkflows(cmd.Context(), config); err != nil {
-			// Format validation error for better user experience
-			// The main function will detect the ✗ prefix and print it without double formatting
-			if !jsonOutput {
-				// Return a new error with formatted message so main() can print it
-				return fmt.Errorf("%s", cli.FormatValidationError(err))
-			}
+			// Return error as-is without additional formatting
+			// Errors from CompileWorkflows are already formatted with console.FormatError
+			// which provides IDE-parseable location information (file:line:column)
 			return err
 		}
 		return nil
@@ -685,9 +682,15 @@ func main() {
 
 	if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
 		errMsg := err.Error()
-		// Check if error is already formatted (contains suggestions or starts with ✗)
-		// to avoid double formatting with FormatErrorMessage
-		if strings.Contains(errMsg, "Suggestions:") || strings.HasPrefix(errMsg, "✗") {
+		// Check if error is already formatted to avoid double formatting:
+		// - Contains suggestions (FormatErrorWithSuggestions)
+		// - Starts with ✗ (FormatErrorMessage)
+		// - Contains file:line:column: pattern (console.FormatError)
+		isAlreadyFormatted := strings.Contains(errMsg, "Suggestions:") ||
+			strings.HasPrefix(errMsg, "✗") ||
+			strings.Contains(errMsg, ":") && (strings.Contains(errMsg, "error:") || strings.Contains(errMsg, "warning:"))
+
+		if isAlreadyFormatted {
 			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, errMsg)
 		} else {
 			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatErrorMessage(errMsg))

pkg/cli/compile_helpers.go

@@ -100,7 +100,8 @@ func compileSingleFile(compiler *workflow.Compiler, file string, stats *Compilat
 
 	if err := CompileWorkflowWithValidation(compiler, file, verbose, false, false, false, false, false); err != nil {
 		// Always show compilation errors on new line
-		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatErrorMessage(err.Error()))
+		// Note: Don't wrap in FormatErrorMessage as the error is already formatted by console.FormatError
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, err.Error())
 		stats.Errors++
 		stats.FailedWorkflows = append(stats.FailedWorkflows, filepath.Base(file))
 	} else {

pkg/console/console.go

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ func applyStyle(style lipgloss.Style, text string) string {
 }
 
 // ToRelativePath converts an absolute path to a relative path from the current working directory
+// If the relative path contains "..", returns the absolute path instead for clarity
 func ToRelativePath(path string) string {
 	if !filepath.IsAbs(path) {
 		return path
@@ -64,6 +65,11 @@ func ToRelativePath(path string) string {
 		return path
 	}
 
+	// If the relative path contains "..", use absolute path instead for clarity
+	if strings.Contains(relPath, "..") {
+		return path
+	}
+
 	return relPath
 }
 

pkg/console/console_test.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 package console
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -298,11 +299,28 @@ func TestToRelativePath(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 		{
-			name: "absolute path converted to relative",
+			name: "absolute path with .. in relative form returns absolute",
 			path: "/tmp/gh-aw/test.md",
 			expectedFunc: func(result, expected string) bool {
-				// Should be a relative path that doesn't start with /
-				return !strings.HasPrefix(result, "/") && strings.HasSuffix(result, "test.md")
+				// When relative path would contain "..", should return absolute path
+				// The relative path from /home/runner/work/gh-aw/gh-aw to /tmp/gh-aw/test.md
+				// would be ../../../../../tmp/gh-aw/test.md (contains ..)
+				// So we should get the absolute path back
+				return result == "/tmp/gh-aw/test.md"
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "absolute path within working directory converted to relative",
+			path: func() string {
+				// Get current working directory and construct a path within it
+				wd, _ := os.Getwd()
+				return filepath.Join(wd, "pkg/console/test.md")
+			}(),
+			expectedFunc: func(result, expected string) bool {
+				// Absolute path within working directory should be converted to relative
+				// without ".." in the path
+				// The result should not start with / and should not contain ..
+				return !strings.HasPrefix(result, "/") && !strings.Contains(result, "..") && strings.HasSuffix(result, "test.md")
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -336,13 +354,14 @@ func TestFormatErrorWithAbsolutePaths(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// The output should contain test.md and line:column information
 	if !strings.Contains(output, "test.md:5:10:") {
-		t.Errorf("Expected output to contain relative file path with line:column, got: %s", output)
+		t.Errorf("Expected output to contain file path with line:column, got: %s", output)
 	}
 
-	// The output should not start with an absolute path (no leading /)
+	// Since tmpDir is outside the working directory (in /tmp), the path should be absolute
+	// to avoid confusing relative paths with ".." components
 	lines := strings.Split(output, "\n")
-	if strings.HasPrefix(lines[0], "/") {
-		t.Errorf("Expected output to start with relative path, but found absolute path: %s", lines[0])
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(lines[0], "/") {
+		t.Errorf("Expected output to start with absolute path for files outside working directory, got: %s", lines[0])
 	}
 
 	// Should contain error message

pkg/parser/json_path_locator.go

@@ -398,12 +398,12 @@ func findNestedSection(yamlContent string, pathSegments []PathSegment) NestedSec
 			if segment.Type == "key" {
 				// Look for "key:" pattern
 				keyPattern := regexp.MustCompile(`^` + regexp.QuoteMeta(segment.Value) + `\s*:`)
-				if keyPattern.MatchString(trimmedLine) && lineLevel == currentLevel*2 {
+				if keyPattern.MatchString(trimmedLine) && lineLevel == currentLevel {
 					// Found a matching key at the correct indentation level
 					if currentLevel == len(pathSegments)-1 {
 						// This is the final segment - we found our target
 						foundLine = lineNum
-						baseIndentLevel = lineLevel + 2 // Properties inside this object should be indented further
+						baseIndentLevel = lineLevel + 1 // Properties inside this object should be indented one level further
 						break
 					} else {
 						// Move to the next level
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ func findNestedSection(yamlContent string, pathSegments []PathSegment) NestedSec
 
 	// Find the end of this nested section by looking for the next line at the same or lower indentation
 	endLine := len(lines) - 1          // Default to end of file
-	targetLevel := baseIndentLevel - 2 // The level of the key we found
+	targetLevel := baseIndentLevel - 1 // The level of the key we found
 
 	for lineNum := foundLine + 1; lineNum < len(lines); lineNum++ {
 		line := lines[lineNum]