[Possible Bug / Error] PythonScript 3.0.24.0 - "PluginsManager:runPluginCommand Exception" dialog with "Access Violation" with one of my scripts.

[futuremotiondev]

Version Info and Config

OS: Windows 11 Pro x64 Version 25H2 (0S Build 26200.7705)
Npp: Notepad++ v8.9.1 (64-bit)
PythonScript: v3.0.24 (https://github.com/bruderstein/PythonScript/releases/tag/v3.0.24)

---

Overview of Issue

I created two new scripts today (via Claude Opus 4.5) to transform a specific JSON format to another. In this case it's to replace RGB values to equivalent hex colors, and back. Claude has never failed me until today... but unfortunately my script is causing Npp to spit out an PluginsManager::runPluginCommand Exception - Access Violation popup:

How can I debug this?

This is really frustrating to diagnose because even though I have the "Show Console" enabled for PythonScript globally, it doesn't seem to show the error in the console at all, and I have no way of knowing what line or specific section of code is throwing this error.

All of my old scripts work completely fine, so I don't think this is an installation issue. Can someone possibly spot what's wrong with my script or at least provide me with a better way to debug this? I have no clue what to do in order to diagnose this bug.

My Scripts

Here are both scripts:

• FM TransformColorJsonHexToRgb.py

• FM TransformColorJsonRgbToHex.py

This is my input (I've tried running on selection as well as the whole file):

{
  "Name": "Some Name",
  "BackgroundColor": "22, 22, 24",
  "LightBackgroundColor": "19, 19, 21",
  "DarkBackgroundColor": "14, 14, 15",
  "TextColor": "227, 227, 239",
  "BorderColor": "39, 39, 42",
  "CheckerColor": "213, 188, 170",
  "CheckerColor2": "212, 146, 146",
  "CheckerSize": 17,
  "LinkColor": "95, 136, 255",
  "MenuHighlightColor": "44, 44, 52",
  "MenuHighlightBorderColor": "28, 28, 34",
  "MenuBorderColor": "28, 28, 34",
  "MenuCheckBackgroundColor": "186, 219, 130",
  "MenuFont": "Roboto, 14px",
  "ContextMenuFont": "Roboto, 14px",
  "ContextMenuOpacity": 100,
  "SeparatorLightColor": "255, 75, 238",
  "SeparatorDarkColor": "25, 25, 28"
}

FM TransformColorJsonRgbToHex.py:

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
"""
RGB to Hex Color Converter for Notepad++ PythonScript
Converts RGB color values like "22, 22, 24" to hex format "#161618"
Handles selection or entire document with full undo support.
"""

import re

def rgb_to_hex(match):
    """
    Convert an RGB string match to hex format.
    
    Args:
        match: Regex match object containing RGB values
        
    Returns:
        Hex color string in format "#RRGGBB"
    """
    try:
        r = int(match.group(1).strip())
        g = int(match.group(2).strip())
        b = int(match.group(3).strip())
        
        # Clamp values to valid RGB range
        r = max(0, min(255, r))
        g = max(0, min(255, g))
        b = max(0, min(255, b))
        
        return '"#{:02X}{:02X}{:02X}"'.format(r, g, b)
    except (ValueError, AttributeError):
        # Return original if conversion fails
        return match.group(0)


def convert_rgb_to_hex(text):
    """
    Convert all RGB color values in text to hex format.
    
    Matches patterns like:
        "22, 22, 24"
        "255, 128, 0"
        " 22 , 22 , 24 " (with extra whitespace)
    
    Args:
        text: Input text containing RGB color values
        
    Returns:
        Text with RGB values converted to hex
    """
    # Pattern matches quoted RGB values: "R, G, B"
    # Captures three groups of digits separated by commas
    # Allows flexible whitespace
    pattern = r'"(\d{1,3})\s*,\s*(\d{1,3})\s*,\s*(\d{1,3})"'
    
    return re.sub(pattern, rgb_to_hex, text)


def main():
    """Main entry point for the script."""
    
    # Check if there's a selection
    selection_start = editor.getSelectionStart()
    selection_end = editor.getSelectionEnd()
    has_selection = selection_start != selection_end
    
    # Begin undo action for single-step undo
    editor.beginUndoAction()
    
    try:
        if has_selection:
            # Process only selected text
            selected_text = editor.getSelText()
            converted_text = convert_rgb_to_hex(selected_text)
            
            if selected_text != converted_text:
                editor.replaceSel(converted_text)
                notepad.messageBox(
                    "RGB to Hex conversion complete (selection).",
                    "Conversion Complete",
                    0
                )
            else:
                notepad.messageBox(
                    "No RGB color values found in selection.",
                    "No Changes",
                    0
                )
        else:
            # Process entire document
            full_text = editor.getText()
            converted_text = convert_rgb_to_hex(full_text)
            
            if full_text != converted_text:
                # Preserve cursor position
                current_pos = editor.getCurrentPos()
                editor.setText(converted_text)
                
                # Restore cursor (adjust if position is now out of bounds)
                new_length = editor.getTextLength()
                editor.gotoPos(min(current_pos, new_length))
                
                notepad.messageBox(
                    "RGB to Hex conversion complete (entire document).",
                    "Conversion Complete",
                    0
                )
            else:
                notepad.messageBox(
                    "No RGB color values found in document.",
                    "No Changes",
                    0
                )
    finally:
        # Always end undo action, even if an error occurs
        editor.endUndoAction()


# Execute the script
main()

Conclusion

Can someone possibly check my script to see what's causing this violation?

I resorted to posting an issue because I have no idea how to debug this.

Thanks much.

[Ekopalypse]

I suspect that you are using more than 50 scripts and that the script in question appears in a position after that. This could cause such an error. Could that be the case? You can easily check this by opening your PythonScriptStartup.cnf and seeing how many ITEM tags are defined.

[futuremotiondev]

Aha!

That's the issue. I have exactly 51 ITEM tags defined that point to my scripts.

So now the next logical question is how can I exceed this number without throwing an error?

I don't want to trim down my script library as I use all of my scripts regularly. Is there a way to run a script that isn't defined by an ITEM tag?

This is how I'm calling scripts from my context menu (contextMenu.xml):

<Item FolderName="Transform" PluginEntryName="Python Script" PluginCommandItemName="FM TransformMDTableToCSV" ItemNameAs="Transform Markdown Table to Standard CSV"/>
<Item FolderName="Transform" PluginEntryName="Python Script" PluginCommandItemName="FM TransformMDTableToCSVTabDelim" ItemNameAs="Transform Markdown Table to Tab Delimited CSV"/>
<Item FolderName="Transform" PluginEntryName="Python Script" PluginCommandItemName="FM TransformMDTableToCSVCustomDelim" ItemNameAs="Transform Markdown Table to Custom Delimited CSV"/>
<Item FolderName="Transform" PluginEntryName="Python Script" PluginCommandItemName="FM TransformColorJsonRgbToHex" ItemNameAs="Transform JSON RGB Values to Hex"/>
<Item FolderName="Transform" PluginEntryName="Python Script" PluginCommandItemName="FM TransformColorJsonHexToRgb" ItemNameAs="Transform JSON Hex Values to RGB"/>

Obviously this approach requires the ITEM tags defined, but is there a way I can run a script that isn't added as an "ITEM" via PythonScript?

... Or should I figure out a way to add multiple functions to a single .py and call this script with arguments? I don't really know how I would structure this approach, it would be a maintenance nightmare as Python isn't really my best programming language.

Is there another way?

I don't really know the best path forward so if you can recommend the best way to continue to add functionality without hitting the 51 ITEM limit it would be hugely appreciated.

[alankilborn]

Organize some of your scripts into subfolders.

[futuremotiondev]

Organize some of your scripts into subfolders.

I have, they are all in subfolders.

See below:

Size         Hierarchy
──────────   ─────────
0       B    ├───startup.py
             │
3.01   KB    ├───Alignment
1.23   KB    │   ├───FM AlignByFirstSpace.py
1.78   KB    │   └───FM AlignByFirstSpacePrompt.py
             │
9.17   KB    ├───Combine
716     B    │   ├───FM CombineNLStringsToCSLDoubleQuotes.py
668     B    │   ├───FM CombineNLStringsToCSLNoQuotes.py
737     B    │   ├───FM CombineNLStringsToCSLSingleQuotes.py
965     B    │   ├───FM CombineNLStringsToCSLSurroundCustom.py
1.01   KB    │   ├───FM CombineNLStringsToListCustomDelim.py
966     B    │   ├───FM CombineNLStringsToPwshArrayEnclosed.py
969     B    │   ├───FM CombineNLStringsToPwshArrayNonEnclosed.py
2.24   KB    │   ├───FM CombineNLStringsToPwshArrayWrapped.py
844     B    │   ├───FM CombineNLStringsToSpaceSeparatedList.py
198     B    │   └───FM Join all Lines to Single Line.py
             │
825     B    ├───Commenting
825     B    │   └───FM Registry File Block Comment.py
             │
2.72   KB    ├───Convert
857     B    │   ├───FM Convert Decimal To DWORD Value.py
836     B    │   ├───FM Convert Decimal To Hex Regedit.py
416     B    │   ├───FM Convert Decimal To Hex.py
254     B    │   ├───FM Convert Hex To Decimal.py
421     B    │   └───FM URL Decode.py
             │
2.85   KB    ├───Format
1.66   KB    │   ├───ConvertPathSlashes.py
1.19   KB    │   └───FM NumericalSerializePrefix.py
             │
6.27   KB    ├───GUI
724     B    │   ├───FM Test Dialog.py
             │
3.64   KB    ├───Line Operations
616     B    │   ├───FM Delete Duplicate Lines Both.py
518     B    │   ├───FM Delete Duplicate Lines.py
444     B    │   ├───FM Keep Unique Lines.py
0       B    │   ├───FM Remove All Linebreaks.py
63      B    │   ├───FM Remove Empty Lines.py
641     B    │   ├───FM Remove Newlines from Selection.py
1.41   KB    │   └───FM Unwrap Paragraphs.py
             │
1.92   KB    ├───Open Config Files
153     B    │   ├───FM Open Context Menu Config.py
151     B    │   ├───FM Open Keyboard Shortcuts Config.py
171     B    │   ├───FM Open MenuCommandReference.py
148     B    │   ├───FM Open NPP Config File.py
114     B    │   ├───FM Open NPP Config Folder.py
171     B    │   ├───FM Open NPP MenuCommandReference.py
129     B    │   ├───FM Open Plugin Config Folder.py
123     B    │   ├───FM Open Python Lib Folder.py
148     B    │   ├───FM Open Python Scripts Folder.py
149     B    │   ├───FM Open Syntax Highlighting Config.py
173     B    │   ├───FM Open Toolbar Config.py
140     B    │   ├───FM Open Toolbar Icons Folder.py
194     B    │   └───FM OpenMenuCommandReference.py
             │
3.03   KB    ├───Other
200     B    │   ├───FM AddLineNumbersToFile.py
582     B    │   ├───FM Isolate HTML Hex Codes.py
759     B    │   ├───FM Remove All Control Characters.py
1.53   KB    │   └───FM StripEverythingExceptHTMLTags.py
             │
7.21   KB    ├───Registry
1.54   KB    │   ├───FM Registry HexToString.py
1.75   KB    │   ├───FM Registry Integer to DWORD Hex Regedit Format.py
1.75   KB    │   ├───FM Registry Integer to DWORD Hex.py
2.17   KB    │   └───FM Registry StringToHex.py
             │
507     B    ├───Sort
181     B    │   ├───FM Sort By Line Length Ascending.py
180     B    │   ├───FM Sort By Line Length Descending.py
146     B    │   └───FM Sort Lines Alphanumerically.py
             │
5.39   KB    ├───Split
1.02   KB    │   ├───FM SplitCommaSeparatedToNewlineSeparated.py
1.14   KB    │   ├───FM SplitCustomDelimToNewlineSeparated.py
2.51   KB    │   ├───FM SplitNLStringsToMarkdownTable.py
738     B    │   └───FM SplitSpaceSeparatedToNewlines.py
             │
19.17  KB    ├───Transform
3.73   KB    │   ├───FM TransformColorJsonHexToRgb.py
3.65   KB    │   ├───FM TransformColorJsonRgbToHex.py
4.41   KB    │   ├───FM TransformMDTableToCSV.py
3.84   KB    │   ├───FM TransformMDTableToCSVCustomDelim.py
3.55   KB    │   └───FM TransformMDTableToCSVTabDelim.py
             │
147     B    └───Whitespace
147     B        └───FM Trim Trailing Whitespace.py

From what I understand you have to actually add each individual script as an "item" in the PythonScript config:

I can't add a directory from what I understand. Sorry if I'm overlooking something simple.