40.1 Deep schemas: nested objects and arrays

The Depth Limit

Models struggle with JSON nested deeper than 3-4 levels. They lose track of which closing brace `}` matches which opening brace `{`.

Handling Recursion

If you need to represent a File System Tree (infinite depth), do not ask for one recursive JSON object.

Flatten the structure:

[
  { "id": 1, "parent_id": null, "name": "root" },
  { "id": 2, "parent_id": 1, "name": "src" },
  { "id": 3, "parent_id": 2, "name": "index.ts" }
]

This "Adjacency List" format is much easier for the model to generate reliably than a deeply nested tree.

Where to go next

• 40.2 “Explain errors as JSON” for debuggability