# Invalid JSON Output

## Ontology Metadata

Code: ISS-0021
Version: ISS-0021@0.1.0
Ontology release: 0.1.0
Updated: 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z
Canonical URL: /workbench/issues/invalid-json-output/

## Summary

The AI returns malformed JSON or structured output that cannot be parsed.

## Category

- CAT-0010 — Output
  - URL: /workbench/categories/output/
  - Summary: Problems where generated content, citations, fields, formats, parser-facing output, or structured responses are missing, malformed, unsupported, or unusable.

## Primary Pattern

- PAT-0160 — Schema Breakage
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/schema-breakage/
  - Summary: A structural condition where an instance, graph, payload, or object violates the type, shape, or rule requirements of a declared schema.

## Declared Patterns

- PAT-0160 — Schema Breakage
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/schema-breakage/
  - Summary: A structural condition where an instance, graph, payload, or object violates the type, shape, or rule requirements of a declared schema.
- PAT-0150 — Interface Mismatch
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/interface-mismatch/
  - Summary: A structural condition where observed interface behavior, shape, or exchange differs from the declared interface contract.
- PAT-0170 — Constraints Underspecified
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/constraints-underspecified/
  - Summary: A structural condition where declared constraints are insufficient to eliminate ambiguity or multiple admissible states.

## Derived Primary Lenses

- LEN-0160 — Constraint Sufficiency Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/constraint-sufficiency-lens/
  - Summary: Evaluates whether declared constraints are sufficient to eliminate structural degrees of freedom.
- LEN-0200 — Interface Contract Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/interface-contract-lens/
  - Summary: Compares declared interface structure to observed runtime structure to detect contract deviations.
- LEN-0210 — Invariant Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/invariant-lens/
  - Summary: Verifies that declared invariants are structurally enforceable and not contradicted by observed structure.

## Derived Secondary Lenses

- LEN-0150 — Conflict Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/conflict-lens/
  - Summary: Detects mutually incompatible constraints, claims, states, or declarations that cannot be simultaneously satisfied.
- LEN-0180 — Determinism Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/determinism-lens/
  - Summary: Evaluates whether identical structural inputs produce equivalent structural outputs across repeated executions.
- LEN-0230 — Normalization Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/normalization-lens/
  - Summary: Transforms structurally equivalent variants into a canonical form to prevent false divergence.
- LEN-0290 — Variance / Entropy Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/variance-entropy-lens/
  - Summary: Measures structural variability across repeated or comparable evaluations and identifies divergence beyond expected bounds.

## Search Intents

- AI invalid JSON
- ChatGPT malformed JSON
- JSON parse error AI output
- LLM output invalid JSON
- AI gave JSON that will not parse
- malformed structured output