Config Nesting Too Deep
Q-1-27 — Config Nesting Too Deep
A configuration structure is nested more deeply than Quarto allows.
What this means
Quarto places a bound on how deeply nested a configuration can be
when it walks the configuration to decide which values carry
markdown — for example the text: of a navigation item, which may
sit at any depth inside a sidebar’s nested contents:. The bound is
large enough that ordinary project configurations sit comfortably
inside it; this warning fires only when nesting reaches unusual
depths.
The bound protects Quarto from infinite or near-infinite structures that could arise from accidental self-reference in generated configurations.
Configuration below the bound is still read normally. What stops is
the markdown interpretation of values beneath that point: a text:
nested deeper than the bound renders as literal text rather than as
markdown.
Why this happens
Two situations:
- A generated configuration has accidentally recursed. A tool
that emits part of
_quarto.ymlhas nested its output inside itself, multiplying the depth on each run. - A configuration was hand-built with deeper structure than Quarto’s data model expects. This is rare; Quarto’s schema rarely demands very deep nesting.
How to fix
Inspect the configuration at the location named in the error. If the structure is the result of generation, flatten or repair the generator. If the configuration was written by hand, look for whether the same information could be expressed at a shallower level — Quarto’s schema typically offers a flatter alternative where one exists.