output-error-zod-import

Fix Zod Import Source Issues

Overview

This skill helps diagnose and fix a common issue where Zod schemas are imported from the wrong source. Output SDK requires schemas to be imported from @outputai/core, not directly from zod.

When to Use This Skill

You're seeing:

• "incompatible schema" errors
• Type errors at step boundaries
• Schema validation failures when passing data between steps
• Errors mentioning Zod types not matching
• "Expected ZodObject but received..." errors

Root Cause

The issue occurs when you import z from zod instead of @outputai/core. While both provide Zod schemas, they create different schema instances that aren't compatible with each other within the Output SDK context.

Why this matters: Output SDK uses a specific version of Zod internally for serialization and validation. When you use a different Zod instance, the schemas are technically different objects even if they define the same shape.

Symptoms

Error Messages

Error: Incompatible schema types
Error: Schema validation failed: expected compatible Zod instance
TypeError: Cannot read property 'parse' of undefined

Code Patterns That Cause This

// WRONG: Importing from 'zod' directly
import { z } from 'zod';

const inputSchema = z.object( {
  name: z.string()
} );

Solution

Step 1: Find All Zod Imports

Search your codebase for incorrect imports:

grep -r "from 'zod'" src/
grep -r 'from "zod"' src/

Step 2: Update Imports

Change all imports from:

// Wrong
import { z } from 'zod';

To:

// Correct
import { z } from '@outputai/core';

Step 3: Verify No Direct Zod Dependencies

Check your imports don't accidentally use zod elsewhere:

grep -r "import.*zod" src/

All matches should show @outputai/core, not zod.

Complete Example

Before (Wrong)

// src/workflows/my-workflow/steps/process.ts
import { z } from 'zod';  // Wrong!
import { step } from '@outputai/core';

export const processStep = step( {
  name: 'processData',
  inputSchema: z.object( {
    id: z.string()
  } ),
  outputSchema: z.object( {
    result: z.string()
  } ),
  fn: async input => {
    return { result: `Processed ${input.id}` };
  }
} );