fix(tables): typed column errors, contact CSV inference, decimal parsing

Three follow-ups from the residual audit.

Routes decided 400-vs-500 by matching substrings of the error message, a list
that had to grow with every new message and silently mis-classified anything it
missed. The metadata-ownership error ("Cannot set precision on column …")
matched nothing and returned a 500, telling the caller the server broke when
their request was invalid. The service now raises `TableColumnError` carrying
its own status; all 38 throws in the column service and the shared
"Table not found" are migrated, and both routes replace the lists with one
typed check. An untyped throw now correctly means a genuine internal error.

CSV import never inferred Email or Phone, so a contacts file arrived as text.
Email is inferred through the type's OWN coerce, so inference and the write
path cannot disagree. Phone is deliberately inferred only on strong evidence —
every value carrying a `+` or a parenthesised area code — because ISBNs, SKUs
and part numbers are dash-separated digit runs too, and a phone column keeps
only the digits, so a wrong guess drops their punctuation silently. A column of
bare digits still infers Number, which is right for an ID column.

`Number()` accepts far more than a decimal number: `0x10` read as 16, `0b11` as
3, `Infinity` as infinity. Someone typing `0x10` means the text, so Number and
Percent now parse through a shared decimal parser. Exponent notation stays
accepted — spreadsheets export it — while the alternate bases are refused.

Author: waleedlatif1

apps/sim/app/api/table/[tableId]/columns/route.test.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { hybridAuthMockFns } from '@sim/testing'
 import { getErrorMessage } from '@sim/utils/errors'
 import { NextRequest } from 'next/server'
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { TableColumnError } from '@/lib/table/errors'
 
 const {
   mockCheckAccess,
@@ -160,9 +161,12 @@ describe('PATCH /api/table/[tableId]/columns — pre-flight guards', () => {
       },
     })
     // Stands in for the race the guards cannot close: the column stopped being
-    // a currency between the snapshot the guards read and this write.
+    // a currency between the snapshot the guards read and this write. The
+    // service raises `TableColumnError` for a caller-fixable failure, which is
+    // what earns the 400 — a plain `Error` now means the server genuinely broke
+    // and correctly returns 500.
     mockUpdateColumnMetadata.mockRejectedValue(
-      new Error('Cannot set currency on column "amount" of type "string"')
+      new TableColumnError('Cannot set currency on column "amount" of type "string"')
     )
 
     const response = await patch({ name: 'renamed', currencyCode: 'USD' })

apps/sim/app/api/table/[tableId]/columns/route.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
 import { columnMatchesRef, getColumnId } from '@/lib/table/column-keys'
 import { columnTypeById, metadataKeysIn, pickMetadata } from '@/lib/table/column-types'
 import { validateMetadataUpdate } from '@/lib/table/columns/metadata'
+import { TableColumnError } from '@/lib/table/errors'
 import { signalTableSchemaChanged } from '@/lib/table/events'
 import {
   accessError,
@@ -78,18 +79,10 @@ export const POST = withRouteHandler(async (request: NextRequest, context: Colum
       return validationErrorResponse(error, 'Invalid request data')
     }
 
-    const msg = rootErrorMessage(error)
-    if (
-      msg.includes('already exists') ||
-      msg.includes('maximum column') ||
-      msg.includes('Invalid column') ||
-      msg.includes('exceeds maximum') ||
-      msg.includes('option')
-    ) {
-      return NextResponse.json({ error: msg }, { status: 400 })
-    }
-    if (msg === 'Table not found') {
-      return NextResponse.json({ error: msg }, { status: 404 })
+    // One typed check instead of a per-message substring list: the service
+    // says whether a failure is the caller's and what status it deserves.
+    if (error instanceof TableColumnError) {
+      return NextResponse.json({ error: error.message }, { status: error.status })
     }
 
     logger.error(`[${requestId}] Error adding column to table ${tableId}:`, error)
@@ -305,24 +298,10 @@ export const PATCH = withRouteHandler(async (request: NextRequest, context: Colu
       return validationErrorResponse(error, 'Invalid request data')
     }
 
-    const msg = rootErrorMessage(error)
-    if (msg.includes('not found') || msg.includes('Table not found')) {
-      return NextResponse.json({ error: msg }, { status: 404 })
-    }
-    if (
-      msg.includes('already exists') ||
-      msg.includes('Cannot delete the last column') ||
-      msg.includes('Cannot set column') ||
-      msg.includes('Cannot set unique column') ||
-      msg.includes('Invalid column') ||
-      msg.includes('exceeds maximum') ||
-      msg.includes('incompatible') ||
-      msg.includes('duplicate') ||
-      msg.includes('option') ||
-      msg.includes('currency') ||
-      msg.includes('is already type')
-    ) {
-      return NextResponse.json({ error: msg }, { status: 400 })
+    // One typed check instead of a per-message substring list: the service
+    // says whether a failure is the caller's and what status it deserves.
+    if (error instanceof TableColumnError) {
+      return NextResponse.json({ error: error.message }, { status: error.status })
     }
 
     logger.error(`[${requestId}] Error updating column in table ${tableId}:`, error)

apps/sim/app/api/table/[tableId]/import/route.test.ts

@@ -428,9 +428,9 @@ describe('POST /api/table/[tableId]/import', () => {
       )
       expect(response.status).toBe(200)
       expect(mockImportAppendRows).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
-      expect(appendAdditions()).toEqual([
-        expect.objectContaining({ name: 'email', type: 'string' }),
-      ])
+      // Inferred as `email`, not `string`: the fixture values are real
+      // addresses, and CSV inference now recognises them.
+      expect(appendAdditions()).toEqual([expect.objectContaining({ name: 'email', type: 'email' })])
       // Existing columns have no id (legacy) → keyed by name; the new `email`
       // column was assigned id `col_deadbeefcafef00d` (mocked generateId).
       expect(appendRows()).toEqual([
@@ -473,7 +473,7 @@ describe('POST /api/table/[tableId]/import', () => {
       )
       expect(response.status).toBe(200)
       expect(appendAdditions()).toEqual([
-        expect.objectContaining({ name: 'Email_2', type: 'string' }),
+        expect.objectContaining({ name: 'Email_2', type: 'email' }),
       ])
     })
 
@@ -537,9 +537,9 @@ describe('POST /api/table/[tableId]/import', () => {
         })
       )
       // Route forwarded the column addition into the (now atomic) import op.
-      expect(appendAdditions()).toEqual([
-        expect.objectContaining({ name: 'email', type: 'string' }),
-      ])
+      // Inferred as `email`, not `string`: the fixture values are real
+      // addresses, and CSV inference now recognises them.
+      expect(appendAdditions()).toEqual([expect.objectContaining({ name: 'email', type: 'email' })])
       expect(response.status).toBe(400)
       const data = await response.json()
       expect(data.success).toBeUndefined()

apps/sim/app/api/v1/tables/[tableId]/columns/route.ts

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import {
 import { columnMatchesRef, getColumnId } from '@/lib/table/column-keys'
 import { columnTypeById, metadataKeysIn, pickMetadata } from '@/lib/table/column-types'
 import { validateMetadataUpdate } from '@/lib/table/columns/metadata'
+import { TableColumnError } from '@/lib/table/errors'
 import { signalTableSchemaChanged } from '@/lib/table/events'
 import {
   accessError,
@@ -350,25 +351,10 @@ export const PATCH = withRouteHandler(async (request: NextRequest, context: Colu
     const validationResponse = v1ValidationErrorResponseFromError(error)
     if (validationResponse) return validationResponse
 
-    if (error instanceof Error) {
-      const msg = error.message
-      if (msg.includes('not found') || msg.includes('Table not found')) {
-        return NextResponse.json({ error: msg }, { status: 404 })
-      }
-      if (
-        msg.includes('already exists') ||
-        msg.includes('Cannot delete the last column') ||
-        msg.includes('Cannot set column') ||
-        msg.includes('Invalid column') ||
-        msg.includes('exceeds maximum') ||
-        msg.includes('incompatible') ||
-        msg.includes('duplicate') ||
-        msg.includes('option') ||
-        msg.includes('currency') ||
-        msg.includes('is already type')
-      ) {
-        return NextResponse.json({ error: msg }, { status: 400 })
-      }
+    // One typed check instead of a per-message substring list: the service
+    // says whether a failure is the caller's and what status it deserves.
+    if (error instanceof TableColumnError) {
+      return NextResponse.json({ error: error.message }, { status: error.status })
     }
 
     logger.error(`[${requestId}] Error updating column in table:`, error)

apps/sim/lib/table/__tests__/column-types-contact.test.ts

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ import {
   pickMetadata,
 } from '@/lib/table/column-types'
 import { buildConvertedColumn } from '@/lib/table/columns/service'
-import { coerceValue } from '@/lib/table/import'
+import { coerceValue, inferColumnType } from '@/lib/table/import'
 import { filterRulesToFilter, prunePredicateForColumns } from '@/lib/table/query-builder/converters'
 import type { ColumnDefinition } from '@/lib/table/types'
 
@@ -409,6 +409,40 @@ describe('review-round-7 regressions', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('follow-up fixes', () => {
+  it('reads a numeric cell as decimal, not as an alternate base', () => {
+    // `Number()` reads `0x10` as 16 and `0b11` as 3. A user typing `0x10`
+    // means the text, so parsing it that way stored a value never entered.
+    for (const type of ['number', 'percent'] as const) {
+      for (const input of ['0x10', '0b11', '0o17', 'Infinity', '1e400']) {
+        expect(COLUMN_TYPE_REGISTRY[type].coerce(input, column(type)).ok, `${type} ${input}`).toBe(
+          false
+        )
+      }
+      // Exponent notation stays accepted — spreadsheets export it.
+      const exp = COLUMN_TYPE_REGISTRY[type].coerce('1e3', column(type))
+      expect(exp.ok && exp.value).toBe(1000)
+      const neg = COLUMN_TYPE_REGISTRY[type].coerce('-2.5', column(type))
+      expect(neg.ok && neg.value).toBe(-2.5)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('infers an email column from a CSV, using the type’s own validation', () => {
+    expect(inferColumnType(['ada@example.com', 'bob@example.co.uk'])).toBe('email')
+    expect(inferColumnType(['ada@example.com', 'not an address'])).toBe('string')
+  })
+
+  it('infers phone only on strong evidence, never from bare digits or dashes', () => {
+    expect(inferColumnType(['+1 555 123 4567', '+44 20 7123 4567'])).toBe('phone')
+    expect(inferColumnType(['(555) 123-4567', '(555) 987-6543'])).toBe('phone')
+    // An ID column of bare digits is a Number, which is the right answer.
+    expect(inferColumnType(['5551234567', '5559876543'])).toBe('number')
+    // Dash-separated digit runs are ISBNs and SKUs as often as phone numbers,
+    // and a phone column keeps only the digits — so these stay text.
+    expect(inferColumnType(['978-0-13-235088-4', '978-0-32-135668-0'])).toBe('string')
+  })
+})
+
 describe('date includeTime', () => {
   it('truncates to a calendar day only when includeTime is explicitly false', () => {
     const dateOnly = column('date', { includeTime: false })

apps/sim/lib/table/column-types/number.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { TypeNumber } from '@sim/emcn/icons'
 import type { ColumnTypeDefinition } from '@/lib/table/column-types/types'
 import { ownedKeysOf } from '@/lib/table/column-types/types'
+import { parseDecimalNumber } from '@/lib/table/numeric'
 import { clampPrecision, DEFAULT_PRECISION, formatWithPrecision } from '@/lib/table/precision'
 
 export const numberColumnType: ColumnTypeDefinition = {
@@ -22,14 +23,8 @@ export const numberColumnType: ColumnTypeDefinition = {
   parseErrorMessage: 'Invalid number',
 
   coerce(value) {
-    if (typeof value === 'number') {
-      return Number.isFinite(value) ? { ok: true, value } : { ok: false }
-    }
-    if (typeof value === 'string' && value.trim() !== '') {
-      const parsed = Number(value)
-      return Number.isFinite(parsed) ? { ok: true, value: parsed } : { ok: false }
-    }
-    return { ok: false }
+    const parsed = parseDecimalNumber(value)
+    return parsed === null ? { ok: false } : { ok: true, value: parsed }
   },
 
   validateCell(value, column) {

apps/sim/lib/table/column-types/percent.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { TypePercent } from '@sim/emcn/icons'
 import type { ColumnTypeDefinition } from '@/lib/table/column-types/types'
 import { ownedKeysOf } from '@/lib/table/column-types/types'
+import { parseDecimalNumber } from '@/lib/table/numeric'
 import { clampPrecision, DEFAULT_PRECISION, formatWithPrecision } from '@/lib/table/precision'
 
 /**
@@ -12,12 +13,9 @@ import { clampPrecision, DEFAULT_PRECISION, formatWithPrecision } from '@/lib/ta
  * written against either column means the same thing.
  */
 function parsePercent(value: unknown): number | null {
-  if (typeof value === 'number') return Number.isFinite(value) ? value : null
+  if (typeof value === 'number') return parseDecimalNumber(value)
   if (typeof value !== 'string') return null
-  const trimmed = value.trim().replace(/%$/, '').trim()
-  if (trimmed === '') return null
-  const parsed = Number(trimmed)
-  return Number.isFinite(parsed) ? parsed : null
+  return parseDecimalNumber(value.trim().replace(/%$/, ''))
 }
 
 export const percentColumnType: ColumnTypeDefinition = {