Activity Browser: Unable to delete parameters due to MissingName error — dependency_chain always fails #1610
Description
Updating AB
- Yes, I have updated AB and still experience this issue
What happened?
Hi, I’m encountering a persistent issue in Activity Browser related to parameter deletion.
I attempted to remove a list of parameters from a parameter group.
At first, deletion did not work. I noticed that if I switched the parameter’s database to ecoinvent or biosphere, I could delete it. After doing this several times, the parameter list in the original group became inconsistent.
Now, whenever I try to add or remove any parameter in the original group, Activity Browser throws a MissingName error during the dependency check. It also shows parameters that I already removed long ago.
Error shown in logs
bw2parameters.errors.MissingName: The following variables aren't defined:
vcp_second_gen_s_n|vcp_second_shoot_h|vcp_second_trk_g_vmi|vcp_gen_lph_secondary|vcp_first_gen_h|vcp_second_gen_p_n|vcp_first_trd_vmi|vcp_gen_lph_primary|vcp_second_car_g_vmi|vcp_second_trk_d_vmi|vcp_trl_mass_kg|vcp_first_car_vmi|vcp_trl_life_hours|vcp_first_scale|vcp_second_suv_p_vmi|vcp_second_scale|vcp_first_shoot_h|vcp_miles_to_km|vcp_first_trg_vmi|vcp_payload_hvy_t|vcp_first_trl_n|test|vcp_first_suv_vmi|vcp_first_air_pmi|vcp_second_trl_n|vcp_first_gen_n|vcp_second_gen_h|vcp_diesel_kg_per_l
In another case, the error reduces to a single variable:
bw2parameters.errors.MissingName: The following variables aren't defined:
emb_tv_vod_hours_total
The error is triggered when Activity Browser calls ActivityParameter.dependency_chain() during is_deletable() or when recalculating parameters.
What I tried
Exported all parameters from the group to Excel — none of the missing variable names appear in the exported Name or Formula columns.
Verified that these parameters were previously deleted from the group.
Switched the parameter’s database (e.g. to ecoinvent), which sometimes allows deletion of that specific parameter, but the original group remains broken.
Any operation on parameters in this group (add, edit, delete) fails because dependency checking always raises MissingName.
Expected behavior
Activity Browser should allow deleting parameters cleanly.
Missing variables should not persist after parameters are removed.
The dependency check should not block actions in the parameter group if no formulas reference removed variables.
Actual behavior
The parameter group becomes unusable:
Adding or removing parameters always fails with MissingName.
Activity Browser seems to think old parameters are still referenced somewhere, even though they are not visible in the UI or in the parameter export.
Environment
Brightway2
Activity Browser (installed via conda, latest version available at the time of writing)
Windows 10
New conda environment; the issue reproduces with this specific project
Contact
You can reach me at: [email protected]
Please let me know if I can provide additional logs, screenshots, or a minimal example project, or if there is a recommended way to reset/repair the parameter dependency chain for a specific group.
Thanks!
Relevant errors
Operating system
Windows 10