> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://zerv.wisl.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> zerv is a CLI tool that generates version strings from Git state. It is not a service or platform.
> Examples on this site are backed by integration tests; copy them verbatim.
> Flag names are exact: use --output-template, and --dirty takes no value.

# Config parse error

> zerv error: Config parse error — zerv.toml has a typo'd or misplaced key. deny_unknown_fields rejects it loudly; fix the key or move it under [version] or [flow].

```
Error: Config parse error: ...
```

`zerv.toml` failed to parse. The file only accepts stable policy fields: an ephemeral
per-build flag (`dirty = true`, `bump_minor = true`, `major = 2`) or a typo'd key is
rejected loudly at parse time (`deny_unknown_fields`) rather than silently ignored.

## Triggers

A top-level key that belongs to a section, or does not exist at all:

```toml theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
# zerv.toml — rejected: bump_minor is an ephemeral CLI flag, not a config field
bump_minor = true
```

Broken TOML syntax fails the same way, with the error naming `zerv.toml`:

```toml theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
# zerv.toml — rejected: not valid TOML
not = valid = toml
```

## Fix

Remove the key, or move it to the matching section (`[version]` / `[flow]`). See the
[config file](/concepts/config-file) page for the allowed fields. Not this error? Every fix
lives on [zerv errors and troubleshooting](/troubleshooting).