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metadata.refresh() always fails: "Expected object, received string at metadata" (GET /api/v1/runs/{id}/metadata returns serialized metadata) #5039
Description
Summary
metadata.refresh() inside a task always rejects with:
200 Validation error: Expected object, received string at "metadata"
Versions
@trigger.dev/sdk/@trigger.dev/core4.5.12. The client code in 4.7.4 and onmainlooks the same.- Trigger.dev Cloud.
Reproduction
- Run a task that sets any metadata, for example
metadata.set("key", "value")and thenawait metadata.flush(). - In the same task, call
await metadata.refresh(). It throws the error above. - Calling the endpoint directly shows why:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRIGGER_SECRET_KEY" https://api.trigger.dev/api/v1/runs/<runId>/metadata
returns metadata as a serialized JSON string, alongside metadataType: "application/json". In contrast, GET /api/v3/runs/<runId> (runs.retrieve()) returns metadata as an object.
Where it seems to come from
- Server: the GET loader in
apps/webapp/app/routes/api.v1.runs.$runId.metadata.ts, added in 89431c7, returns the storedmetadatavalue as-is, without deserializing it. The PUT handler in the same file returns a parsed object. - Client:
getRunMetadata(packages/core/src/v3/apiClient/index.ts) validates the response withUpdateMetadataResponseBody, which expectsmetadatato be a record.
Workaround
Read the metadata back with runs.retrieve(runId) instead of metadata.refresh().
Activity
lakshya-dhariwal commentedon Oct 19, 2026
Confirmed the root cause and have a tested fix.
The GET loader in
apps/webapp/app/routes/api.v1.runs.$runId.metadata.tsreturns the stored packet string as-is at all three read points (replica, mollifier buffer, primary), whileruns.retrievedeserializes throughparsePacketAsJson(ApiRetrieveRunPresenter.server.ts) and the PUT handler in the same file returns the parsed object. So the SDK'sUpdateMetadataResponseBody(metadata: z.record(...)) always rejects the GET response.Suggested fix, verified locally: deserialize in the loader with
parsePacketAsJson({ data, dataType: metadataType ?? "application/json" })at the three return points, return{}when metadata is absent (matching the PUT service's empty case inupdateMetadata.server.ts), and pass through a buffered snapshot that already holds an object. I added route tests for the PG / buffered / object-passthrough / empty cases and updated the existing replica-lag guard test for the parsed shape: 13/13 pass with the fix, and the new tests fail against the unpatched route.Happy to open a PR with it if a maintainer is willing to vouch (CONTRIBUTING gates PRs on that).