agent couldnt parse Prodigy annotation JSONL with HTML markup in text field error

TL;DR

Fix this in the Prodigy annotation JSONL by acting on the exact message first: unescape the markup inside the text field or strip the markup tags before parsing when only plain text is needed, keeping offsets aligned by cleaning a copy rather than the source. Do not rerun the whole job unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one item, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.

agent couldnt parse Prodigy annotation JSONL with HTML markup in text field error

Use this when

• The operation in the Prodigy annotation JSONL fails with this exact message: agent couldnt parse Prodigy annotation JSONL with HTML markup in text field error.
• The same failure repeats on retry with unchanged inputs.
• A review, export or check is blocked until this item completes.

Not for this skill when

• The message is a permission or outage notice from the platform. Resolve that first, then return here if this error remains.
• The operation completes and you only disagree with its output. That is a quality review, not this failure.

Steps

1. Reproduce the failure with the smallest scope that still shows it in the Prodigy annotation JSONL, and copy the full message plus the item, user or metric involved into the run notes. Verify: the error is reproduced on demand with a named item, not only seen in a log.
2. Apply the specific fix for this error: unescape the markup inside the text field or strip the markup tags before parsing when only plain text is needed, keeping offsets aligned by cleaning a copy rather than the source. Verify: every line parses and the spans still point at the same words.
3. Check the neighbouring items that share the same config, ontology, baseline or credential, because this class of failure rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Rerun the original operation in the Prodigy annotation JSONL on the previously failing scope, watching for the same message rather than assuming success from a quiet log. Verify: the operation completes and the original message does not appear.
5. Compare the result counts, decisions or alerts against the source in the Prodigy annotation JSONL so a silent partial success is caught before sign off. Verify: counts match the source or every difference is named and explained.
6. Record the fix, the triggering input and the verification result on the item so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the error, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Why it happens

Exported text can carry escaped markup sequences; a strict parser reading them as structure breaks, and naive stripping shifts span offsets.

Variant phrasings

agent couldnt parse Prodigy annotation JSONL with HTML markup in text field error

The verbatim form searchers paste from the terminal or console. Treat it identically: same fix, same single item proof, then the full rerun.

How to fix: agent couldnt parse Prodigy annotation JSONL with HTML markup in text field error

The how-to phrasing for the same failure in the Prodigy annotation JSONL. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the rerun.

the Prodigy annotation JSONL troubleshooting for this failure

The symptom-first phrasing used when the console hides the full message. Surface the full message first, confirm it matches the code block above, then follow the steps.

Compatibility: the Prodigy annotation JSONL at current versions, plus the platform API or console the query names; no extra tooling beyond a text editor and the source system access needed to verify counts.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstoCoeSpkJHDRy__rGTiHMg