# "odd length text property list" issue with \`org-roam-find-node\`

**URL:** <https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202>\
**Category:** Troubleshooting\
**Created:** [November 10, 2021, 7:52am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202 "2021-11-10T07:52:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jburkhard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/jburkhard/32/252_2.png) [@jburkhard](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/jburkhard)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 7:52am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202/1 "2021-11-10T07:52:22Z")

</div>

#### Emacs

GNU Emacs 28.0.50 (build 1, x86\_64-w64-mingw32) of 2021-01-15

#### Doom

| Doom emacs | v21.12.0-alpha HEAD → develop b4cc1c84 2021-11-07 01:53:17 +0100 |
| --- | --- |
| Doom core | v3.0.0-alpha HEAD → develop b4cc1c84 2021-11-07 01:53:17 +0100 |

#### Org-Roam

2.1.0

#### Issue

Whenever I call `org-roam-find-node` - no matter if via Evil or `M-x` the error-message is issued in the minibuffer and nothing happens.  
So basically I can’t find any node.

Strangely, the following commands work just fine:

- `org-roam-ref-find`
- `org-roam-dailies-goto...`
- `org-roam-node-random`

Since without the missing functionality, Org-Roam is rendered nearly useless, you can feel my despair, right?

Thank you very much in advance for your time and support,  
Jochen

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nobiot](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/nobiot/32/159_2.png) [@nobiot](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/nobiot)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:09am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202/2 "2021-11-10T08:09:12Z")

</div>

Do you have a backtrace?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jburkhard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/jburkhard/32/252_2.png) [@jburkhard](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/jburkhard)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 11:37am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202/3 "2021-11-10T11:37:15Z")

</div>

Thanks for your immediate reply.  
What exactly do you mean?  
The `Messages` buffer only shows one line of entry (as it reads in the title).

Other than that, there are follow-up errors like this one:  
`condition-case: Error in a Doom startup hook: find-file-hook, org-roam-db-autosync--setup-file-h, (doom-hook-error org-roam-find-file-hook +org-roam-open-with-buffer-maybe-h (error "Odd length text property list"))`

Does that help or what else do you want me to provide?

Kind regards,  
Jochen

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nobiot](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/nobiot/32/159_2.png) [@nobiot](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/nobiot)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 11:56am UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202/4 "2021-11-10T11:56:39Z")

</div>

No… Turn on `toggle-debug-on-error`. Then you get a very long list error that traces the chain of functions.

Looking at the error, though, you might have a file/headline that does not set the property drawer correctly.

Other than that, it looks like a Doom issue?

Backtrace would usually give you more clue

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jburkhard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/jburkhard/32/252_2.png) [@jburkhard](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/jburkhard)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 12:04pm UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202/5 "2021-11-10T12:04:54Z")

</div>

Ahh, sure, right:

```auto
Debugger entered--Lisp error: (error "Odd length text property list")
  read()
  #f(compiled-function (connection) "Parse well-formed output into an s-expression." #<bytecode -0x8bb9c7dde3ffbb>)(#<emacsql-sqlite-connection emacsql-sqlite-connection-344611c>)
  apply(#f(compiled-function (connection) "Parse well-formed output into an s-expression." #<bytecode -0x8bb9c7dde3ffbb>) #<emacsql-sqlite-connection emacsql-sqlite-connection-344611c> nil)
  emacsql-parse(#<emacsql-sqlite-connection emacsql-sqlite-connection-344611c>)
  #f(compiled-function (connection sql &rest args) "Send SQL s-expression to CONNECTION and return the results." #<bytecode 0xfd7fff76a2d0b03>)(#<emacsql-sqlite-connection emacsql-sqlite-connection-344611c> "SELECT\n id,\n file,\n \"level\",\n todo,\n pos,\n p...")
  apply(#f(compiled-function (connection sql &rest args) "Send SQL s-expression to CONNECTION and return the results." #<bytecode 0xfd7fff76a2d0b03>) #<emacsql-sqlite-connection emacsql-sqlite-connection-344611c> "SELECT\n id,\n file,\n \"level\",\n todo,\n pos,\n p...")
  emacsql(#<emacsql-sqlite-connection emacsql-sqlite-connection-344611c> "SELECT\n id,\n file,\n \"level\",\n todo,\n pos,\n p...")
  apply(emacsql #<emacsql-sqlite-connection emacsql-sqlite-connection-344611c> "SELECT\n id,\n file,\n \"level\",\n todo,\n pos,\n p..." nil)
  org-roam-db-query("SELECT\n id,\n file,\n \"level\",\n todo,\n pos,\n p...")
  org-roam-node-list()
  org-roam-node-read--completions()
  org-roam-node-read(nil nil)
  org-roam-node-find()
  funcall-interactively(org-roam-node-find)
  call-interactively(org-roam-node-find nil nil)
  command-execute(org-roam-node-find)

```

I don’t use properties (I would say) at all, and never had.

Does that help?  
I, btw. checked for path and other emacsql and sqlite dependancies.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nobiot](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/nobiot/32/159_2.png) [@nobiot](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/nobiot)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 12:14pm UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202/6 "2021-11-10T12:14:56Z")

</div>

If you are on V2, IDs are in the property drawer, you would be using it. If not, then you are on V1…

This backtrace does not tell me much, unfortunately.

If you are on V2, it’s probably useful to see if you have accidentally removed any part of properties in your recent Org files.

Other than this, I can’t tell you much more. It looks to be rather a Doom issue. It might be quicker if you asked their forum…

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jburkhard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/jburkhard/32/252_2.png) [@jburkhard](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/jburkhard)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 12:27pm UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202/7 "2021-11-10T12:27:04Z")

</div>

I’m definitely on V2 (see above, 2.1.0).

Puh, how will I learn about what part of properties might be missing.  
What I could do though is

- Moving all org-files to another folder
- Deleting the org-roam.db
- Creating some org-files
- See if the error persists

What do you think of that?

Btw: I had an issue with copy&pasting text with Umlaute (äöü and the like). Doom then changed the file encoding to RAW and I needed to set the encoding generally to UTF-8:

```auto
;; Coding-System Stackoverflow questions: 2901541
  (set-language-environment 'utf-8)
  (setq locale-coding-system 'utf-8)
  (set-default-coding-systems 'utf-8)
  (set-terminal-coding-system 'utf-8)
  (set-selection-coding-system
    (if (eq system-type 'windows-nt)
        'utf-16-le ;; https://rufflewind.com/2014-07-20/pasting-unicode-in-emacs-on-windows
      'utf-8))
  (prefer-coding-system 'utf-8)

```

What are your thoughts about that?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nobiot](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/nobiot/32/159_2.png) [@nobiot](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/nobiot)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 12:29pm UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202/8 "2021-11-10T12:29:36Z")

</div>

> [@jburkhard](#):
>
> What I could do though is
> 
> - Moving all org-files to another folder
> - Deleting the org-roam.db
> - Creating some org-files
> - See if the error persists
> 
> What do you think of that?

I think that’s a good idea.  
We don’t know what the error really means and there is little clue at the moment.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jburkhard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/org-roam.discourse.group/jburkhard/32/252_2.png) [@jburkhard](https://org-roam.discourse.group/u/jburkhard)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://org-roam.discourse.group/t/odd-length-text-property-list-issue-with-org-roam-find-node/2202/9 "2021-11-10T12:47:02Z")

</div>

Ha, deleting the org-roam.db already got rid of the issue and I can resume working with `org-roam-find-node`.  
Thank you again for your immediate support and have a great day.