rasa-pro 3.11.15__tar.gz → 3.11.17__tar.gz

{rasa_pro-3.11.15 → rasa_pro-3.11.17}/PKG-INFO

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 Metadata-Version: 2.3
 Name: rasa-pro
-Version: 3.11.15
+Version: 3.11.17
 Summary: State-of-the-art open-core Conversational AI framework for Enterprises that natively leverages generative AI for effortless assistant development.
 Keywords: nlp,machine-learning,machine-learning-library,bot,bots,botkit,rasa conversational-agents,conversational-ai,chatbot,chatbot-framework,bot-framework
 Author: Rasa Technologies GmbH

{rasa_pro-3.11.15 → rasa_pro-3.11.17}/pyproject.toml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"
 
 [tool.poetry]
 name = "rasa-pro"
-version = "3.11.15"
+version = "3.11.17"
 description = "State-of-the-art open-core Conversational AI framework for Enterprises that natively leverages generative AI for effortless assistant development."
 authors = [ "Rasa Technologies GmbH <hi@rasa.com>",]
 maintainers = [ "Tom Bocklisch <tom@rasa.com>",]
@@ -377,6 +377,8 @@ convention = "google"
 
 
 
+
+
 [tool.poetry.group.dev.dependencies]
 ruff = ">=0.3.5,<0.4.0"
 docker = "~7.1.0"

{rasa_pro-3.11.15 → rasa_pro-3.11.17}/rasa/core/policies/enterprise_search_policy.py

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
+import glob
 import importlib.resources
 import json
+import os.path
 import re
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, Optional, Text
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, Optional, Text, Tuple
 import dotenv
 import structlog
 from jinja2 import Template
@@ -148,6 +150,8 @@ DEFAULT_ENTERPRISE_SEARCH_PROMPT_WITH_CITATION_TEMPLATE = importlib.resources.re
     "rasa.core.policies", "enterprise_search_prompt_with_citation_template.jinja2"
 )
 
+_ENTERPRISE_SEARCH_CITATION_PATTERN = re.compile(r"\[([^\]]+)\]")
+
 
 class VectorStoreConnectionError(RasaException):
     """Exception raised for errors in connecting to the vector store."""
@@ -323,9 +327,11 @@ class EnterpriseSearchPolicy(LLMHealthCheckMixin, EmbeddingsHealthCheckMixin, Po
 
         if store_type == DEFAULT_VECTOR_STORE_TYPE:
             logger.info("enterprise_search_policy.train.faiss")
+            docs_folder = self.vector_store_config.get(SOURCE_PROPERTY)
+            self._validate_documents_folder(docs_folder)
             with self._model_storage.write_to(self._resource) as path:
                 self.vector_store = FAISS_Store(
-                    docs_folder=self.vector_store_config.get(SOURCE_PROPERTY),
+                    docs_folder=docs_folder,
                     embeddings=embeddings,
                     index_path=path,
                     create_index=True,
@@ -685,6 +691,33 @@ class EnterpriseSearchPolicy(LLMHealthCheckMixin, EmbeddingsHealthCheckMixin, Po
             result[domain.index_for_action(action_name)] = score  # type: ignore[assignment]
         return result
 
+    @classmethod
+    def _validate_documents_folder(cls, docs_folder: str) -> None:
+        if not os.path.exists(docs_folder) or not os.path.isdir(docs_folder):
+            error_message = (
+                f"Document source directory does not exist or is not a "
+                f"directory: '{docs_folder}'. "
+                "Please specify a valid path to the documents source directory in the "
+                "vector_store configuration."
+            )
+            logger.error(
+                "enterprise_search_policy.train.faiss.invalid_source_directory",
+                message=error_message,
+            )
+            print_error_and_exit(error_message)
+
+        docs = glob.glob(os.path.join(docs_folder, "*.txt"), recursive=True)
+        if not docs or len(docs) < 1:
+            error_message = (
+                f"Document source directory is empty: '{docs_folder}'. "
+                "Please add documents to this directory or specify a different one."
+            )
+            logger.error(
+                "enterprise_search_policy.train.faiss.source_directory_empty",
+                message=error_message,
+            )
+            print_error_and_exit(error_message)
+
     @classmethod
     def load(
         cls,
@@ -695,7 +728,6 @@ class EnterpriseSearchPolicy(LLMHealthCheckMixin, EmbeddingsHealthCheckMixin, Po
         **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> "EnterpriseSearchPolicy":
         """Loads a trained policy (see parent class for full docstring)."""
-
         # Perform health checks for both LLM and embeddings client configs
         cls._perform_health_checks(config, "enterprise_search_policy.load")
 
@@ -759,7 +791,7 @@ class EnterpriseSearchPolicy(LLMHealthCheckMixin, EmbeddingsHealthCheckMixin, Po
             return None
 
         source = merged_config.get(VECTOR_STORE_PROPERTY, {}).get(SOURCE_PROPERTY)
-        if not source:
+        if not source or not os.path.exists(source) or not os.path.isdir(source):
             return None
 
         docs = FAISS_Store.load_documents(source)
@@ -794,10 +826,18 @@ class EnterpriseSearchPolicy(LLMHealthCheckMixin, EmbeddingsHealthCheckMixin, Po
 
     @staticmethod
     def post_process_citations(llm_answer: str) -> str:
-        """Post-process the LLM answer.
-
-         Re-writes the bracketed numbers to start from 1 and
-         re-arranges the sources to follow the enumeration order.
+        """Post-processes the LLM answer to correctly number and sort citations and
+        sources.
+
+        - Handles both single `[1]` and grouped `[1, 3]` citations.
+        - Rewrites the numbers in square brackets in the answer text to start from 1
+        and be sorted within each group.
+        - Reorders the sources according to the order of their first appearance
+        in the text.
+        - Removes citations from the text that point to sources missing from
+        the source list.
+        - Keeps sources that are not cited in the text, placing them at the end
+        of the list.
 
         Args:
             llm_answer: The LLM answer.
@@ -811,77 +851,160 @@ class EnterpriseSearchPolicy(LLMHealthCheckMixin, EmbeddingsHealthCheckMixin, Po
 
         # Split llm_answer into answer and citations
         try:
-            answer, citations = llm_answer.rsplit("Sources:", 1)
+            answer_part, sources_part = llm_answer.rsplit("Sources:", 1)
         except ValueError:
-            # if there is no "Sources:" in the llm_answer
-            return llm_answer
-
-        # Find all source references in the answer
-        pattern = r"\[\s*(\d+(?:\s*,\s*\d+)*)\s*\]"
-        matches = re.findall(pattern, answer)
-        old_source_indices = [
-            int(num.strip()) for match in matches for num in match.split(",")
-        ]
+            # if there is no "Sources:" separator, return the original llm_answer
+            return llm_answer.strip()
+
+        # Parse the sources block to extract valid sources and other lines
+        valid_sources, other_source_lines = EnterpriseSearchPolicy._parse_sources_block(
+            sources_part
+        )
+
+        # Find all unique, valid citations in the answer text in their order
+        # of appearance
+        cited_order = EnterpriseSearchPolicy._get_cited_order(
+            answer_part, valid_sources
+        )
+
+        # Create a mapping from the old source numbers to the new, sequential numbers.
+        # For example, if the citation order in the text was [3, 1, 2], this map
+        # becomes {3: 1, 1: 2, 2: 3}. This allows for a quick lookup when rewriting
+        # the citations
+        renumbering_map = {
+            old_num: new_num + 1 for new_num, old_num in enumerate(cited_order)
+        }
+
+        # Rewrite the citations in the answer text based on the renumbering map
+        processed_answer = EnterpriseSearchPolicy._rewrite_answer_citations(
+            answer_part, renumbering_map
+        )
+
+        # Build the new list of sources
+        new_sources_list = EnterpriseSearchPolicy._build_final_sources_list(
+            cited_order,
+            renumbering_map,
+            valid_sources,
+            other_source_lines,
+        )
 
-        # Map old source references to the correct enumeration
-        renumber_mapping = {num: idx + 1 for idx, num in enumerate(old_source_indices)}
-
-        # remove whitespace from original source citations in answer
-        for match in matches:
-            answer = answer.replace(f"[{match}]", f"[{match.replace(' ', '')}]")
-
-        new_answer = []
-        for word in answer.split():
-            matches = re.findall(pattern, word)
-            if matches:
-                for match in matches:
-                    if "," in match:
-                        old_indices = [
-                            int(num.strip()) for num in match.split(",") if num
-                        ]
-                        new_indices = [
-                            renumber_mapping[old_index]
-                            for old_index in old_indices
-                            if old_index in renumber_mapping
-                        ]
-                        if not new_indices:
-                            continue
-
-                        word = word.replace(
-                            match, f"{', '.join(map(str, new_indices))}"
-                        )
-                    else:
-                        old_index = int(match.strip("[].,:;?!"))
-                        new_index = renumber_mapping.get(old_index)
-                        if not new_index:
-                            continue
-
-                        word = word.replace(str(old_index), str(new_index))
-            new_answer.append(word)
-
-        # join the words
-        joined_answer = " ".join(new_answer)
-        joined_answer += "\nSources:\n"
-
-        new_sources: List[str] = []
-
-        for line in citations.split("\n"):
-            pattern = r"(?<=\[)\d+"
-            match = re.search(pattern, line)
+        if len(new_sources_list) > 0:
+            processed_answer += "\nSources:\n" + "\n".join(new_sources_list)
+
+        return processed_answer
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _parse_sources_block(sources_part: str) -> Tuple[Dict[int, str], List[str]]:
+        """Parses the sources block from the LLM response.
+        Returns a tuple containing:
+        - A dictionary of valid sources matching the "[1] ..." format,
+        where the key is the source number
+        - A list of other source lines that do not match the specified format
+        """
+        valid_sources: Dict[int, str] = {}
+        other_source_lines: List[str] = []
+        source_line_pattern = re.compile(r"^\s*\[(\d+)\](.*)")
+
+        source_lines = sources_part.strip().split("\n")
+
+        for line in source_lines:
+            line = line.strip()
+            if not line:
+                continue
+
+            match = source_line_pattern.match(line)
             if match:
-                old_index = int(match.group(0))
-                new_index = renumber_mapping[old_index]
-                # replace only the first occurrence of the old index
-                line = line.replace(f"[{old_index}]", f"[{new_index}]", 1)
+                num = int(match.group(1))
+                valid_sources[num] = line
+            else:
+                other_source_lines.append(line)
+
+        return valid_sources, other_source_lines
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _get_cited_order(
+        answer_part: str, available_sources: Dict[int, str]
+    ) -> List[int]:
+        """Find all unique, valid citations in the answer text in their order
+        # of appearance
+        """
+        cited_order: List[int] = []
+        seen_indices = set()
+
+        for match in _ENTERPRISE_SEARCH_CITATION_PATTERN.finditer(answer_part):
+            content = match.group(1)
+            indices_str = [s.strip() for s in content.split(",")]
+            for index_str in indices_str:
+                if index_str.isdigit():
+                    index = int(index_str)
+                    if index in available_sources and index not in seen_indices:
+                        cited_order.append(index)
+                        seen_indices.add(index)
+
+        return cited_order
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _rewrite_answer_citations(
+        answer_part: str, renumber_map: Dict[int, int]
+    ) -> str:
+        """Rewrites the citations in the answer text based on the renumbering map."""
+
+        def replacer(match: re.Match) -> str:
+            content = match.group(1)
+            old_indices_str = [s.strip() for s in content.split(",")]
+            new_indices = [
+                renumber_map[int(s)]
+                for s in old_indices_str
+                if s.isdigit() and int(s) in renumber_map
+            ]
+            if not new_indices:
+                return ""
+
+            return f"[{', '.join(map(str, sorted(list(set(new_indices)))))}]"
+
+        processed_answer = _ENTERPRISE_SEARCH_CITATION_PATTERN.sub(
+            replacer, answer_part
+        )
+
+        # Clean up formatting after replacements
+        processed_answer = re.sub(r"\s+([,.?])", r"\1", processed_answer)
+        processed_answer = processed_answer.replace("[]", " ")
+        processed_answer = re.sub(r"\s+", " ", processed_answer)
+        processed_answer = processed_answer.strip()
+
+        return processed_answer
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _build_final_sources_list(
+        cited_order: List[int],
+        renumbering_map: Dict[int, int],
+        valid_sources: Dict[int, str],
+        other_source_lines: List[str],
+    ) -> List[str]:
+        """Builds the final list of sources based on the cited order and
+        renumbering map.
+        """
+        new_sources_list: List[str] = []
+
+        # First, add the sorted, used sources
+        for old_num in cited_order:
+            new_num = renumbering_map[old_num]
+            source_line = valid_sources[old_num]
+            new_sources_list.append(
+                source_line.replace(f"[{old_num}]", f"[{new_num}]", 1)
+            )
 
-                # insert the line into the new_index position
-                new_sources.insert(new_index - 1, line)
-            elif line.strip():
-                new_sources.append(line)
+        # Then, add the unused but validly numbered sources
+        used_source_nums = set(cited_order)
+        # Sort by number to ensure a consistent order for uncited sources
+        for num, line in sorted(valid_sources.items()):
+            if num not in used_source_nums:
+                new_sources_list.append(line)
 
-        joined_sources = "\n".join(new_sources)
+        # Finally, add any other source lines
+        new_sources_list.extend(other_source_lines)
 
-        return joined_answer + joined_sources
+        return new_sources_list
 
     @classmethod
     def _perform_health_checks(

{rasa_pro-3.11.15 → rasa_pro-3.11.17}/rasa/core/processor.py

@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ from rasa.dialogue_understanding.commands import (
     NoopCommand,
     SetSlotCommand,
     CannotHandleCommand,
+    SessionStartCommand,
+    SessionEndCommand,
+    RestartCommand,
 )
 from rasa.engine import loader
 from rasa.engine.constants import (
@@ -855,19 +858,61 @@ class MessageProcessor:
                 tracker.has_coexistence_routing_slot
                 and tracker.get_slot(ROUTE_TO_CALM_SLOT) is None
             ):
-                # if we are currently not routing to either CALM or dm1
-                # we make a sticky routing to CALM if there are any commands
-                # from the trigger intent parsing
-                # or a sticky routing to dm1 if there are no commands
+                # If we are currently not routing to either CALM or DM1:
+                # - Sticky route to CALM if there are any commands
+                #   from the trigger intent parsing
+                # - Sticky route to DM1 if there are no commands present
+                route_to_calm_slot_value = self._determine_route_to_calm_slot_value(
+                    nlu_adapted_commands
+                )
                 commands += [
                     SetSlotCommand(
-                        ROUTE_TO_CALM_SLOT, len(nlu_adapted_commands) > 0
+                        ROUTE_TO_CALM_SLOT, route_to_calm_slot_value
                     ).as_dict()
                 ]
 
         parse_data[COMMANDS] = commands
         return parse_data
 
+    def _determine_route_to_calm_slot_value(
+        self, nlu_adapted_commands: List[Dict[str, Any]]
+    ) -> Optional[bool]:
+        """Determines what value should be assigned to `ROUTE_TO_CALM_SLOT`.
+
+        Returns:
+            - True: If any command other than:
+                - SessionStartCommand
+                - SessionEndCommand
+                - RestartCommand
+              is present.
+            - None: If only ignored system commands are present.
+            - False If no commands at all.
+        """
+        system_commands_to_ignore = [
+            SessionStartCommand.command(),
+            SessionEndCommand.command(),
+            RestartCommand.command(),
+        ]
+
+        # Exclude the system commands, as it doesn't originate from the user's
+        # input intent and shouldn't influence the decision for setting
+        # ROUTE_TO_CALM_SLOT.
+        intent_triggered_commands = [
+            command
+            for command in nlu_adapted_commands
+            if command.get("command") not in system_commands_to_ignore
+        ]
+
+        if len(intent_triggered_commands) > 0:
+            # There are commands other than system commands present - route to CALM
+            return True
+        elif len(nlu_adapted_commands) > 0:
+            # Only system command is present — defer routing decision
+            return None
+        else:
+            # No commands at all — route to DM1
+            return False
+
     def _update_full_retrieval_intent(self, parse_data: Dict[Text, Any]) -> None:
         """Update the parse data with the full retrieval intent.
 

{rasa_pro-3.11.15 → rasa_pro-3.11.17}/rasa/dialogue_understanding/commands/cancel_flow_command.py

@@ -88,8 +88,9 @@ class CancelFlowCommand(Command):
         original_stack = original_tracker.stack
 
         applied_events: List[Event] = []
-
-        user_frame = top_user_flow_frame(original_stack)
+        user_frame = top_user_flow_frame(
+            original_stack, ignore_call_and_link_frames=False
+        )
         current_flow = user_frame.flow(all_flows) if user_frame else None
 
         if not current_flow:

{rasa_pro-3.11.15 → rasa_pro-3.11.17}/rasa/dialogue_understanding/commands/set_slot_command.py

@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ from typing import Any, Dict, List
 
 import structlog
 from rasa.dialogue_understanding.commands import Command
+from rasa.dialogue_understanding.commands.utils import (
+    find_default_flows_collecting_slot,
+)
 from rasa.dialogue_understanding.patterns.collect_information import (
     CollectInformationPatternFlowStackFrame,
 )
@@ -135,6 +138,11 @@ class SetSlotCommand(Command):
         ):
             # Get the other predicted flows from the most recent message on the tracker.
             predicted_flows = get_flows_predicted_to_start_from_tracker(tracker)
+            if not predicted_flows:
+                # If no predicted flows, check for default flows collecting the slot.
+                predicted_flows = find_default_flows_collecting_slot(
+                    self.name, all_flows
+                )
             use_slot_fill = any(
                 step.collect == self.name and not step.ask_before_filling
                 for flow in all_flows.underlying_flows

rasa_pro-3.11.17/rasa/dialogue_understanding/commands/utils.py

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+from typing import List
+from rasa.shared.core.flows import FlowsList
+
+
+def find_default_flows_collecting_slot(
+    slot_name: str, all_flows: FlowsList
+) -> List[str]:
+    """Find default flows that have collect steps matching the specified slot name.
+
+    Args:
+        slot_name: The name of the slot to search for.
+        all_flows: All flows in the assistant.
+
+    Returns:
+        List of flow IDs for default flows that collect the specified slot
+        without asking before filling.
+    """
+    return [
+        flow.id
+        for flow in all_flows.underlying_flows
+        if flow.is_rasa_default_flow
+        and any(
+            step.collect == slot_name and not step.ask_before_filling
+            for step in flow.get_collect_steps()
+        )
+    ]

{rasa_pro-3.11.15 → rasa_pro-3.11.17}/rasa/dialogue_understanding/generator/nlu_command_adapter.py

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ from rasa.dialogue_understanding.commands import (
     SetSlotCommand,
 )
 from rasa.dialogue_understanding.commands.set_slot_command import SetSlotExtractor
-from rasa.dialogue_understanding.commands.utils import (
+from rasa.dialogue_understanding.commands.pattern_to_command_mapping import (
     triggerable_pattern_to_command_class,
 )
 from rasa.dialogue_understanding.generator import CommandGenerator

{rasa_pro-3.11.15 → rasa_pro-3.11.17}/rasa/dialogue_understanding/processor/command_processor.py

@@ -52,12 +52,6 @@ from rasa.shared.nlu.constants import COMMANDS
 
 structlogger = structlog.get_logger()
 
-CANNOT_HANDLE_REASON = (
-    "A command generator attempted to set a slot "
-    "with a value extracted by an extractor "
-    "that is incompatible with the slot mapping type."
-)
-
 
 def contains_command(commands: List[Command], typ: Type[Command]) -> bool:
     """Check if a list of commands contains a command of a given type.
@@ -432,9 +426,9 @@ def clean_up_commands(
     # when coexistence is enabled, by default there will be a SetSlotCommand
     # for the ROUTE_TO_CALM_SLOT slot.
     if tracker.has_coexistence_routing_slot and len(clean_commands) > 2:
-        clean_commands = filter_cannot_handle_command_for_skipped_slots(clean_commands)
+        clean_commands = filter_cannot_handle_command(clean_commands)
     elif not tracker.has_coexistence_routing_slot and len(clean_commands) > 1:
-        clean_commands = filter_cannot_handle_command_for_skipped_slots(clean_commands)
+        clean_commands = filter_cannot_handle_command(clean_commands)
 
     clean_commands = ensure_max_number_of_command_type(
         clean_commands, RepeatBotMessagesCommand, 1
@@ -534,10 +528,18 @@ def clean_up_slot_command(
             "command_processor.clean_up_slot_command.skip_command_slot_not_in_domain",
             command=command,
         )
+        resulting_commands.append(
+            CannotHandleCommand(
+                reason="The slot predicted by the LLM is not defined in the domain."
+            )
+        )
         return resulting_commands
 
     if not should_slot_be_set(slot, command):
-        cannot_handle = CannotHandleCommand(reason=CANNOT_HANDLE_REASON)
+        cannot_handle = CannotHandleCommand(
+            reason="A command generator attempted to set a slot with a value extracted "
+            "by an extractor that is incompatible with the slot mapping type."
+        )
         if cannot_handle not in resulting_commands:
             resulting_commands.append(cannot_handle)
 
@@ -551,9 +553,9 @@ def clean_up_slot_command(
             resulting_commands.append(command)
             return resulting_commands
 
-        if (slot := tracker.slots.get(command.name)) is not None and slot.value == str(
-            command.value
-        ):
+        if (slot := tracker.slots.get(command.name)) is not None and str(
+            slot.value
+        ) == str(command.value):
             # the slot is already set, we don't need to set it again
             structlogger.debug(
                 "command_processor.clean_up_slot_command.skip_command_slot_already_set",
@@ -713,12 +715,12 @@ def should_slot_be_set(slot: Slot, command: SetSlotCommand) -> bool:
     return True
 
 
-def filter_cannot_handle_command_for_skipped_slots(
+def filter_cannot_handle_command(
     clean_commands: List[Command],
 ) -> List[Command]:
-    """Filter out a 'cannot handle' command for skipped slots.
+    """Filter out a 'cannot handle' command.
 
-    This is used to filter out a 'cannot handle' command for skipped slots
+    This is used to filter out a 'cannot handle' command
     in case other commands are present.
 
     Returns:
@@ -727,9 +729,5 @@ def filter_cannot_handle_command_for_skipped_slots(
     return [
         command
         for command in clean_commands
-        if not (
-            isinstance(command, CannotHandleCommand)
-            and command.reason
-            and CANNOT_HANDLE_REASON == command.reason
-        )
+        if not isinstance(command, CannotHandleCommand)
     ]

{rasa_pro-3.11.15 → rasa_pro-3.11.17}/rasa/dialogue_understanding/stack/frames/flow_stack_frame.py

@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@ class FlowStackFrameType(str, Enum):
             typ: The string to create the `FlowStackFrameType` from.
 
         Returns:
-            The created `FlowStackFrameType`."""
+        The created `FlowStackFrameType`.
+        """
         if typ is None:
             return FlowStackFrameType.REGULAR
         elif typ == FlowStackFrameType.INTERRUPT.value:
@@ -104,7 +105,8 @@ class BaseFlowStackFrame(DialogueStackFrame):
             all_flows: All flows in the assistant.
 
         Returns:
-            The current flow."""
+        The current flow.
+        """
         flow = all_flows.flow_by_id(self.flow_id)
         if not flow:
             # we shouldn't ever end up with a frame that belongs to a non
@@ -119,9 +121,20 @@ class BaseFlowStackFrame(DialogueStackFrame):
             all_flows: All flows in the assistant.
 
         Returns:
-            The current flow step."""
+            The current flow step.
+        """
         flow = self.flow(all_flows)
-        step = flow.step_by_id(self.step_id)
+
+        step_id = self.step_id
+        # in 3.11.4 we added the flow_id as a prefix to the step_id
+        # this causes issues when loading old dialogues as the prefix is missing
+        # (see https://rasahq.atlassian.net/jira/software/c/projects/ENG/boards/43?selectedIssue=ENG-1939)
+        # so we try to find the step by adding the flow prefix to old step_ids as well
+        # TODO: remove this in 4.0.0
+        alternative_step_id = f"{self.flow_id}_{self.step_id}"
+
+        step = flow.step_by_id(step_id) or flow.step_by_id(alternative_step_id)
+
         if not step:
             # we shouldn't ever end up with a frame that belongs to a non
             # existing step, but if we do, we should raise an error