Chart widgets not authorable via mxcli MDL (bundled .mpk only registers first widget; series datasource; AreaChart CE0463)

[ako]

Summary

Chart widgets (BarChart, ColumnChart, PieChart, LineChart, …) are not authorable via mxcli MDL today, blocking the recommended dashboard recipe. Three distinct gaps, one with a clear root cause.

1. Most chart widgets have no registry definition (P1) — root cause found

exec of pluggablewidget 'com.mendix.widget.web.barchart.BarChart' … fails with "no definition for widget … (run 'mxcli widget init')" even after widget init, which registers only areachart, progressbar, progresscircle, barcodescanner.

Root cause: both ParseMPK (sdk/widgets/mpk/mpk.go, def generation) and getWidgetIDFromMPK (used by FindMPK, augmentation) read only WidgetFiles[0] — the first widget in a package. Charts.mpk is one bundle of 10 widgets (AreaChart, BarChart, BubbleChart, ColumnChart, CustomChart, HeatMap, LineChart, PieChart, TimeSeries, ChartPlayground), with AreaChart first — so only AreaChart ever gets registered/augmented. (ProgressBar/ProgressCircle/BarcodeScanner ship as single-widget .mpks, so they're fine.)

This is the same WidgetFiles[0] limitation noted as latent in #600; Charts is the genuinely-bundled package that triggers it. Fix: parse all widget files per .mpk (def generation, FindMPK registration, and per-widget augment selection).

2. Object-list item (series) datasource can't be expressed (P1)

The grammar accepts series s1 (…) with scalar sub-properties and a { body }, but a custom-named datasource-typed sub-property fails: series s1 (staticDataSource: DATABASE FROM …) errors because the generic IDENTIFIER: value branch only accepts scalar propertyValueV3, not a datasource expression. So a series' actual data binding (staticDataSource / dynamicDataSource, X/Y attributes, aggregation) can't be set — same root limitation as #643 (datasource-typed properties only work via the builtin DataSource: clause, not by name). The existing example mdl-examples/doctype-tests/32-pluggable-widget-object-lists-v010.mdl (OL05) documents this in its own NOTE and only exercises primitive series sub-properties.

3. AreaChart builds with CE0463 (P1, unconfirmed)

The one registered chart (AreaChart) reportedly builds with CE0463 "definition of this widget has changed" (envelope/augment drift) — same class as #600 (embedded 11.6 baseline vs installed Charts 6.x). Not independently reproduced here; needs Studio-Pro verification.

Net / impact

The architecturally-correct dashboard recommendation (Charts widget) currently requires Studio Pro or the experimental MCP backend. Headless/mxcli-only authoring falls back to styled-container "charts."

Fixes

• Multi-widget .mpk support (this issue's tractable core): register/augment all widgets in a bundled .mpk, not just WidgetFiles[0]. Registers BarChart/ColumnChart/PieChart/LineChart/etc. and also closes the latent bundled-augment gap from DataGrid 2 - Every time I need to upgrade manually since the definition of this widget has changed #600.
• Per-series datasource binding: allow datasource expressions in object-list item sub-properties (ties to Datasource-typed pluggable-widget property passes 'check' but is silently dropped at 'exec' (CE0642) #643's datasource-by-name work).
• AreaChart CE0463: resolve envelope/augment drift (needs Studio-Pro reference).
• Docs: generated .ai-context/skills/widgets/*.md should show a real object-list-item example (per-series datasource) once the grammar supports it.

Repro

create or replace page MyFirstModule.Dashboard (Title: 'D', Layout: Atlas_Core.Atlas_Default) {
  pluggablewidget 'com.mendix.widget.web.barchart.BarChart' bc (DataSource: DATABASE FROM MyFirstModule.E) { }
}

mxcli exec → "no definition for widget com.mendix.widget.web.barchart.BarChart" (even after mxcli widget init).

[github-actions]

Issue Triage

Summary:
Chart widgets cannot be used in mxcli MDL because only the first widget in a bundled .mpk is registered, series datasources can’t be set, and the AreaChart may show a definition‑changed error.

Checklist of required bug‑report information

Required info	Present?	Details
mxcli version	❌	Not mentioned
Mendix version	❌	Not mentioned
Scenario (what the user tried)	✅	MDL script with pluggablewidget 'com.mendix.widget.web.barchart.BarChart' and mxcli exec
Expected output	✅	Widget should be defined and usable
Experienced output (error)	✅	“no definition for widget … (run 'mxcli widget init')”
AI bug report (mxcli diag --bundle or session log)	❌	Not provided

What’s missing:
Please add the output of mxcli --version (or the commit/build info), the Mendix version of the project you’re working with, and run mxcli diag --bundle (or at least share the relevant session log) so we can reproduce the environment and confirm the fix.

Thanks for the detailed description—once we have those pieces we can move forward!

---

Automated triage via OpenRouter — workflow source

[ako]

Progress

Shipped — multi-widget .mpk registration (the root cause).
ParseMPK/getWidgetIDFromMPK read only WidgetFiles[0], so a bundled package registered only its first widget. Charts.mpk lists 10 widgets (AreaChart first) → only AreaChart got a def. Fixed across def generation, FindMPK, augment selection, and widget extract; bumped WidgetDefGeneratorVersion so existing projects regenerate. All 10 chart widgets now register and exec (verified on the default modelsdk engine + 11.10 mxbuild). Note: this gate lives in the shared, engine-agnostic def-generation, which is why modelsdk hit it even though modelsdk's own widget code already handled bundled .mpks.

Engalar fork — no reuse available. It has no object-list support at all (no SERIES/LINE keywords; 0 objectLists/ObjectListMapping refs); our branch is ahead via #538/#539. So the remaining work is built on our own infrastructure, not cherry-picked.

Target spec. mdl-examples/doctype-tests/34-chart-widget-examples.test.mdl captures the end state — OQL view entities as data sources, one example per chart type, and a dashboard page — with an implementation checklist anchored to the exact code. (.test.mdl is skipped by check-mdl, so the not-yet-implemented syntax doesn't break the build.)

Remaining (option B)

1. Object-list-item datasource binding — buildObjectListItem has a default: that skips the datasource operation, so a series' DataSource: parses but is dropped. Resolve it, route to staticDataSource/dynamicDataSource by DataSet, and write into the series BSON (both backends). (starting here)
   1b. Widget-level datasource for PieChart/HeatMap (no object-list) — same datasource-by-name binding as Datasource-typed pluggable-widget property passes 'check' but is silently dropped at 'exec' (CE0642) #643.
2. LINE + SCALECOLOR object-list keywords — LineChart/BubbleChart/TimeSeries use lines; HeatMap uses scalecolor. Add to MDLPage.g4 widgetTypeV3.
3. CE0463 version-drift — BarChart/ColumnChart show "Update widget" even without data (AreaChart is clean); build PropertyTypes from the installed .mpk rather than the embedded 11.6 baseline (DataGrid 2 - Every time I need to upgrade manually since the definition of this widget has changed #600 class). Needs a Studio-Pro reference.

Already working: chart registration (above) and per-series X/Y attributes.

[ako]

All four items resolved (on main), and guarded by the doctype mx-check gate:

• Multi-widget .mpk support — 52542fb5 "fix(widgets): register all widgets in a bundled .mpk (issue Chart widgets not authorable via mxcli MDL (bundled .mpk only registers first widget; series datasource; AreaChart CE0463) #679)". ParseMPKAll/ParseMPKWidget now register every widget in Charts.mpk, so BarChart/ColumnChart/PieChart/LineChart/etc. are authorable (was: only WidgetFiles[0]/AreaChart). Also closes the latent bundled-augment gap from DataGrid 2 - Every time I need to upgrade manually since the definition of this widget has changed #600.
• Per-series datasource binding — e33d29f7 "feat(pages): author Mendix Charts series via MDL (Bug 9a)" + 53ab2d29 (widget-level datasource attributes for PieChart/HeatMap). series s1 (staticDataSource: database from …, staticXAttribute: …, staticYAttribute: …) now works; the LINE/SCALECOLOR object-list keywords were added too.
• AreaChart CE0463 — resolved. 34-chart-widget-examples.mdl exercises all 8 chart types incl. AreaChart, is on the regular check-mdl suite (b3ebf2e1), and is mx check-CLEAN (0 errors) on the default modelsdk engine via the both-engine gate (Doctype mx-check gate (TestMxCheck_DoctypeScripts) runs only on the legacy engine — misses modelsdk regressions #691). Only the legacy variant is skipped (barchart/linechart template gaps), which is a deprecated-engine limitation, not this bug.
• Docs — b7d96d85 "docs(skills): chart authoring guide": new "Charts (Mendix Charts.mpk)" section in custom-widgets.md and removal of the stale "piechart unsupported" claim in migrate-design-prototype.md. Per-keyword coverage in 32-pluggable-widget-object-lists-v010.mdl (OL05/OL08/OL09).

Chart widgets are now authorable headless via mxcli MDL.