> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.internetobject.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.internetobject.org/parsing-and-errors/parser-behavior.md).

# Parser Behavior & Recovery

A conformant processor SHOULD recover from errors and continue, so that a single bad record does not discard the rest of a document.

## Syntax-error recovery is bounded by structure

On a syntax error, the parser **skips tokens until the next boundary** and resumes there. The boundaries are:

* the record separator `~` (start of the next collection item), and
* the section separator `---` (start of the next section),
* or end of input.

```ruby
~ $schema: { name: string, age: int }
---
~ John, 28              # parsed
~ Bad, { unclosed      # syntax error here; parser skips to the next ~
~ Bob, 35              # parsed — recovery resumed at this record
```

The malformed middle record is reported as an error; the records before and after it are still parsed.

## Validation recovery is bounded by the object

Each record is validated independently. A validation error in one record does not stop validation of the others (see [Collection Rules](/collections/collection-rules.md)).

## Processing options

A processor typically offers options that control recovery and output. Common ones:

* **continue-on-error** — collect errors and keep going (recommended), versus failing on the first error.
* **skip-errors** — omit error entries from the loaded result, returning only the records that succeeded.

> Option names and exact semantics are implementation-defined; this section describes the behaviors a conformant processor is expected to provide.

## Error nodes

When continuing past an error, a processor marks the failed record with an error placeholder in the result so consumers can tell which records succeeded and which did not. See [Error Accumulation](/parsing-and-errors/error-accumulation.md).

## See Also

* [Error Model](/parsing-and-errors/error-model.md) · [Error Accumulation](/parsing-and-errors/error-accumulation.md)
* [Syntax Errors](/structure-and-syntax/syntax-errors.md)


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