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E0208: reference simulator error on sample N

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What happened

The reference SimBackend returned an error when running sample sample_idx during a conformance harness run. Unlike E0207 (which is a backend-under-test error), this error comes from the reference simulator itself.

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Why

The reference simulator should never fail on a valid artifact and a valid input. If it does, one of the following is true:
  1. The artifact is invalid (corrupted or malformed — check with thrindex doctor --check)
  2. The fixture file is malformed (invalid JSON, wrong shape)
  3. There is a bug in the reference simulator (please file a bug report)
This is always a harness or artifact problem, never a property of the backend under test.

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How to fix

  1. Verify the artifact: thrindex doctor --check <artifact.thx>. If it reports any errors, recompile.
  2. Verify the fixture file: inspect the sample JSON file at the reported sample index. Confirm it is valid JSON with the correct spikes field shape.
  3. Run the simulator directly on the failing sample: thrindex run <artifact.thx> --stdin < fixture_N.json. If it fails, this confirms an artifact or fixture issue.
  4. If the artifact and fixture are valid and this error occurs, please file a bug at https://github.com/thrindex/thrindex/issues.

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Example