Fabricated Symbols

Code calls functions, classes, or methods that don't exist — either on project types or on third-party library APIs.

The agent invokes a symbol that isn't defined. Most often this is a plausible-looking method on a third-party object, or a utility "I'm sure we have one of those" that the project actually lacks.

Symptoms

• Generated code calls someLibrary.convenientHelper(...) where the library has no such method.
• Invented method signatures on framework objects (wrong argument order, wrong return type).
• References to utility functions the project doesn't have.
• Runtime AttributeError / TypeError: X is not a function / undefined is not a function.

What to do

• For every symbol you invoke on a third-party library, check the library's real API — docs, source, or type definitions — before writing code.
• For every symbol you invoke on a project type, grep the codebase to confirm it exists. Don't assume.
• If a helper is missing, either add it explicitly (and say you're adding it) or use what the project actually has.
• Prefer the library's documented API over clever-looking shortcuts. Invented methods often look like what the library "should" have.
• When refactoring, run the type-checker after every meaningful change. Invented methods sometimes type-check against any but fail at runtime.