validate-modelica

name

validate-modelica

description

Validate Modelica models (.mo files) by flattening them with WSMKernelX. Use this skill whenever the user asks to validate, check, test, or verify a Modelica model, or when you've just created or edited a .mo file and want to confirm it compiles. Triggers on phrases like 'validate this model', 'check my .mo file', 'does this Modelica model compile', 'flatten the model', or any mention of checking Modelica code with WSMKernelX.

Validate Modelica Model

This skill validates Modelica models (.mo files) by flattening them with WSMKernelX, which checks for structural errors (equations, types, connections). A successful flatten means the model is structurally valid.

Before you run anything

This skill drives WSMKernelX through the shared launcher ../scripts/wsm_run.py. Read the shared-conventions appendix at the end of this file first — launcher resolution, the Windows-vs-Unix shell/Python rules, the temp-dir and cleanup conventions, the JSON-array output gotcha, and the MSL 4.x dialect notes that every step below assumes.

The launcher writes everything into _wsm_validate_temp/ next to the .mo file and leaves validate.out.json there for you to parse. Tell the user: "Working in temporary directory _wsm_validate_temp/. This will be deleted after validation."

Workflow

1. Identify the model file and name

Identify the .mo file and extract the model name — see Appendix → Picking the model name. For a directory-form (multi-file) library, point --model at the library folder (not one class file) and pass the full dotted --name — see Appendix → Directory-form (multi-file) libraries.

2. Run the launcher

python3 "<scripts-dir>/wsm_run.py" --mode validate \
  --model "<path-to-ModelFile.mo>" --name ModelName --timeout 60

The launcher auto-detects whether the model needs the Modelica Standard Library and loads the right MSL version; force it with --msl yes|no or pin a version with --msl-version 4.1.0. If the model uses an installed non-MSL library (e.g. Hydraulic), add --load-library <Name> — see Appendix → Using non-MSL libraries. Timeout: allow up to 60 seconds — complex models with many components can take a while to flatten.

If the launcher can't find the System Modeler install, see Appendix → When the install or compiler isn't found.

3. Parse the output

WSMKernelX writes structured results to validate.out.json in the temp directory — a JSON array; take the first element. status.flatten ("Pass"/"Fail") is the primary result; flat_model holds the flattened class (useful for debugging). Field reference: Appendix → Reading the JSON output.

4. Report results

Summarize clearly:

• Pass: State the model validated successfully. Mention any warnings if present.
• Fail: Show the errors. Include relevant parts of the flattened model if it helps diagnose the issue.

5. Clean up

Remove _wsm_validate_temp/ entirely — commands per OS: Appendix → Temporary directories.

Edge cases

• Packages / name mismatches: parse the actual model/package declaration, not the filename — see Appendix → Picking the model name.
• Unknown library: X on a multi-file library: you pointed --model at a single class file; point it at the library folder instead — see Appendix → Directory-form (multi-file) libraries.
• WSMKernelX not found: see Appendix → When the install or compiler isn't found.
• MSL dialect / Element not found: this toolchain ships MSL 4.x — author with the 4.x names; the 3.2 names and misremembered paths flatten with confusing "not found" errors. Look the correct path up with search-modelica-docs (don't grep the install tree). See Appendix → MSL 4.x dialect.

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Appendix: shared conventions for the Modelica skills

Shared by every Modelica skill that drives WSMKernelX through the bundled launcher; inlined here at release time. For the CLI/option reference, environment variables (WSM_HOME, WSM_VSDEVCMD), install discovery, and the analysis scripts, see ../scripts/README.md.

Locating the launcher

<scripts-dir> (used throughout the skills) is the shared scripts/ folder. Some installs symlink the skill directories without it, so resolve it in this order and use the first that exists:

1. $WSM_SKILLS_SCRIPTS (bash) or $env:WSM_SKILLS_SCRIPTS (PowerShell), if set.
2. ../scripts relative to the skill directory — in a normal install ../scripts/wsm_run.py already exists, so use that path directly; do not run a shell probe to "resolve" it.
3. The repo checkout you installed from, e.g. .../agentskills/scripts.
4. Last resort, search the home directory:
   • PowerShell: Get-ChildItem $HOME -Recurse -Filter wsm_run.py -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object -First 1
   • bash/zsh: find ~ -name wsm_run.py -path '*scripts*' 2>/dev/null | head -1

If only #4 finds it, the install is missing the scripts/ link — tell the user to run install.sh (or install.ps1) from the repo, which links scripts/ too.

Shell and Python

On Windows, use PowerShell. The Git-Bash/cygwin layer may be broken (even ls/find can be absent, giving a misleading "exit 127 / command not found"). Run wsm_run.py with python (not python3); those calls are single-line and shell-agnostic. For cleanup use Remove-Item -Recurse -Force, not rm -rf. On macOS/Linux any POSIX shell is fine and python3 is the usual name.

Let the launcher own .mos/.bat and paths

Do not hand-write .mos scripts, .bat files, or hardcode install/compiler paths. The bundled scripts/wsm_run.py handles every OS difference — it finds the System Modeler install and kernel binary (macOS / Windows / Linux), finds and loads the right MSL files, generates the .mos, and runs the kernel with a working compiler environment per platform (system clang/gcc on macOS/Linux; the Visual Studio dev environment via VsDevCmd.bat on Windows). See ../scripts/README.md for WSM_HOME, the Windows compiler prerequisites, and the full option table.

When the install or compiler isn't found

The launcher searches each OS's standard install locations. If it prints ERROR: Could not locate a Wolfram System Modeler installation, the install is in a non-standard place — ask the user for it and re-run with --wsm-home "<path>" (or have them set WSM_HOME).

Building and simulating also need a C++ toolchain:

• Windows: Visual Studio Build Tools. The launcher locates VsDevCmd.bat itself; if it reports the compiler environment is missing, pass --vsdevcmd "<path-to-VsDevCmd.bat>" (or set WSM_VSDEVCMD) and make sure Build Tools are installed.
• macOS: the Xcode command-line tools (xcode-select --install).
• Linux: gcc/g++.

Run python3 "<scripts-dir>/wsm_run.py" --mode info to see what the launcher discovered.

Temporary directories

The launcher works in a _wsm_<mode>_temp/ directory next to the .mo file (_wsm_validate_temp/, _wsm_simulate_temp/, _wsm_diagnose_temp/) and leaves its outputs there. Tell the user, e.g.: "Working in temporary directory _wsm_<mode>_temp/. This will be deleted afterwards." Pass --tempdir to reuse one directory across models in a session.

Clean up by removing the whole directory — use the user's shell:

rm -rf "<model-dir>/_wsm_<mode>_temp"          # macOS / Linux
# PowerShell: Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "<model-dir>\_wsm_<mode>_temp"

Picking the model name

• The user may provide a path to a .mo file, or you may already be working with one in context.
• Extract the model name: the identifier after model on the first non-comment line, e.g. model FooBar → FooBar. The filename does not always match the model name — parse the actual model/package declaration.
• For packages or nested models, use the top-level model name.
• Pick an instantiable model, not a package, for any kernel call. A package cannot be validated or simulated ("Invalid instantiation … is a package") — use a nested model's full dotted name, e.g. Package.Model.
• Pass an absolute path to --model (relative paths break as the working directory shifts between calls).

Directory-form (multi-file) libraries

A directory-form library stores one class per file with a package.mo at each level. You cannot validate such a class by handing the launcher only its own .mo file — the class's within Lib; clause needs the whole package loaded, and loading the single file alone fails with Internal error: ... expandLibNode: Unknown library: Lib. Instead point --model at the library folder (or its top package.mo, or any class file inside it) and pass the full dotted class name via --name:

python3 "<scripts-dir>/wsm_run.py" --mode validate \
  --model "/abs/path/InvertedPendulum" \
  --name InvertedPendulum.Controller

The launcher resolves any of those forms up to the library's root package.mo and loads the entire package (following package.order) before instantiating --name. It prints a NOTE: telling you which package.mo it loaded. Do not try to work around the unknown-library error by --load-ing individual files.

Reading the JSON output

The kernel writes <mode>.out.json into the temp dir. It is a JSON array — take the first element, then read:

• status.flatten: "Pass" / "Fail" (the primary result for validate).
• status.build: "Pass" / "Fail" — C++ compilation/linking (simulate).
• status.result: simulation result status (simulate).
• messages.errors / messages.warnings / messages.notifications: arrays (empty if none).
• flat_model (validate) / simulation.resultFile (simulate): the flattened class / path to the .mat.

See ../scripts/README.md (wsm_run.py section) for the full field reference.

MSL 4.x dialect

This toolchain ships MSL 4.x. When authoring models, use the 4.x names — the 3.2 names flatten with confusing "not found" errors:

• units: Modelica.Units.SI.* (not Modelica.SIunits.*)
• source frequency parameter: f (not freqHz), e.g. SineVoltage(V=.., f=..)
• declare the dependency as annotation(uses(Modelica(version="4.0.0")))

Run python3 "<scripts-dir>/wsm_run.py" --mode info to confirm the exact MSL version. wsm_run.py also warns on stderr if it spots a 3.2 name in the model.

When a flatten fails with Element not found ... in Modelica..., the MSL component path is wrong (a misremembered name, not a missing install). Resolve the correct path with the search-modelica-docs skill — e.g. sine is Modelica.Blocks.Sources.Sine (not Math.Sine), difference is Math.Feedback (not Math.Subtract), and saturation is Nonlinear.Limiter (not Nonlinear.Saturation). Do not grep or walk the System Modeler install tree to hunt for the class.

Using non-MSL libraries (Hydraulic, and other installed libraries)

MSL is automatic (--msl). For any other library a model uses — Hydraulic, or anything the user installed from the Library Store — the launcher can find it for you. Two steps, no guessing at paths:

1. See what is installed (bundled with System Modeler, user-installed archives, and any custom folders configured in Model Center):

   python3 "<scripts-dir>/wsm_run.py" --mode libraries
   # add --json for a machine-readable array; each row has name/version/source/package
   

   To get just one library's package path (e.g. for a manual --load): --mode libraries --library Hydraulic (add --library-version 2.1 to pin a version).

2. Load it into a build by name — add --load-library <Name> to a validate / simulate / diagnose run (repeatable; pin a version with Name==Ver):

   python3 "<scripts-dir>/wsm_run.py" --mode validate \
     --model "<path>/M.mo" --name M --load-library Hydraulic
   

   The launcher resolves the library (bundled → user-installed → Model-Center custom path, newest version wins) and loadFiles it before the model. A library usually pulls in MSL, so keep MSL on (auto, or --msl yes). Override a lookup with $WSM_LIBRARY_<NAME> (e.g. WSM_LIBRARY_HYDRAULIC=/path/to/package.moe), or fall back to an explicit --load <path-to-package.mo|.moe>.