Add warning for callouts with invalid ID prefixes instead of failing completely with bad errors

news/changelog-1.9.md

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ All changes included in 1.9:
 - ([#13452](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13452)): Wraps subfigure captions generated by `quarto_super()` in `block` function to avoid emitting `par` elements. (author: @christopherkenny)
 - ([#13474](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13474)): Heading font for title should default to `mainfont`.
 - ([#13555](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13555)): Add support for `icon=false` in callouts when used in `format: typst`.
+- ([#13589](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13589)): Fix callouts with invalid ID prefixes crashing with "attempt to index a nil value". Callouts with unknown reference types now render as non-crossreferenceable callouts with a warning, ignoring the invalid ID.
 
 ## Projects
 

src/resources/filters/customnodes/callout.lua

@@ -275,7 +275,16 @@ function _callout_main()
         end
       end
     end
-    if callout.attr.identifier == "" then
+    -- Check if identifier has a valid crossref category
+    local ref_type = refType(callout.attr.identifier)
+    local category = ref_type ~= nil and crossref.categories.by_ref_type[ref_type] or nil
+
+    -- Warn if identifier was provided but category is invalid
+    if callout.attr.identifier ~= "" and category == nil then
+      warn("Callout ID '" .. callout.attr.identifier .. "' has unknown reference type '" .. (ref_type or "none") .. "'. Rendering as regular callout without cross-reference support.")
+    end
+
+    if category == nil then
       return _quarto.format.typst.function_call("callout", {
         { "body", _quarto.format.typst.as_typst_content(callout.content) },
         { "title", _quarto.format.typst.as_typst_content(
@@ -298,8 +307,6 @@ function _callout_main()
       { "icon", pandoc.RawInline("typst", callout.icon == false and "none" or ("" .. icon .. "()"))},
       { "body_background_color", pandoc.RawInline("typst", body_background_color)}
     })
-
-    local category = crossref.categories.by_ref_type[refType(callout.attr.identifier)]
     return make_typst_figure {
       content = typst_callout,
       caption_location = "top",

tests/docs/smoke-all/2025/10/21/13589-valid.qmd

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+---
+title: "Callout with valid ID prefix"
+format:
+  typst:
+    keep-typ: true
+_quarto:
+  tests:
+    typst:
+      ensureTypstFileRegexMatches:
+        -
+          - '#figure\(\[(\r\n?|\n)#block\[(\r\n?|\n)#callout'
+        - []
+      printsMessage:
+        level: INFO
+        regex: 'WARNING(.*)Callout ID(.*)unknown reference type'
+        negate: true
+      noErrors: true
+---
+
+## Test callout with valid crossref ID
+
+This tests that callouts with valid ID prefixes (matching known crossref categories)
+are properly wrapped in figures for cross-reference support.
+
+::: {#nte-valid .callout-note}
+
+## Note with valid ID
+
+This callout uses `#nte-valid` which has the valid prefix "nte" (for notes).
+This should be wrapped in a `figure` for cross-referencing support.
+
+:::
+
+As mentioned in @nte-valid, valid callout IDs should work correctly.

tests/docs/smoke-all/2025/10/21/13589.qmd

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+title: "Callout with invalid ID prefix (#13589)"
+format:
+  typst:
+    keep-typ: true
+_quarto:
+  tests:
+    typst:
+      ensureTypstFileRegexMatches:
+        -
+          # Should render as plain callout with body parameter
+          - '#callout\(\s*body:'
+        -
+          # Should NOT be wrapped in figure+block structure
+          - '#figure\(\[(\r\n?|\n)#block\[(\r\n?|\n)#callout'
+      printsMessage:
+        level: INFO
+        regex: 'WARNING(.*)Callout ID ''random-id'' has unknown reference type ''random'''
+      noErrors: true
+---
+
+## Test callout with invalid crossref ID
+
+This tests the fix for issue #13589: callouts with invalid ID prefixes
+(not matching any known crossref category) should render with a warning
+instead of crashing with "attempt to index a nil value".
+
+::: {#random-id .callout-note}
+
+## Note with invalid ID
+
+This callout uses `#random-id` with unknown prefix "random".
+
+Valid prefixes are: fig, tbl, lst, nte, wrn, cau, tip, imp, prf, rem, sol.
+
+Expected behavior: renders as plain callout (no figure wrapping) with warning.
+
+:::