Chart widgets not authorable via mxcli MDL (bundled .mpk only registers first widget; series datasource; AreaChart CE0463)

[ako]

Summary

Chart widgets (BarChart, ColumnChart, PieChart, LineChart, …) are not authorable via mxcli MDL today, blocking the recommended dashboard recipe. Three distinct gaps, one with a clear root cause.

1. Most chart widgets have no registry definition (P1) — root cause found

exec of pluggablewidget 'com.mendix.widget.web.barchart.BarChart' … fails with "no definition for widget … (run 'mxcli widget init')" even after widget init, which registers only areachart, progressbar, progresscircle, barcodescanner.

Root cause: both ParseMPK (sdk/widgets/mpk/mpk.go, def generation) and getWidgetIDFromMPK (used by FindMPK, augmentation) read only WidgetFiles[0] — the first widget in a package. Charts.mpk is one bundle of 10 widgets (AreaChart, BarChart, BubbleChart, ColumnChart, CustomChart, HeatMap, LineChart, PieChart, TimeSeries, ChartPlayground), with AreaChart first — so only AreaChart ever gets registered/augmented. (ProgressBar/ProgressCircle/BarcodeScanner ship as single-widget .mpks, so they're fine.)

This is the same WidgetFiles[0] limitation noted as latent in #600; Charts is the genuinely-bundled package that triggers it. Fix: parse all widget files per .mpk (def generation, FindMPK registration, and per-widget augment selection).

2. Object-list item (series) datasource can't be expressed (P1)

The grammar accepts series s1 (…) with scalar sub-properties and a { body }, but a custom-named datasource-typed sub-property fails: series s1 (staticDataSource: DATABASE FROM …) errors because the generic IDENTIFIER: value branch only accepts scalar propertyValueV3, not a datasource expression. So a series' actual data binding (staticDataSource / dynamicDataSource, X/Y attributes, aggregation) can't be set — same root limitation as #643 (datasource-typed properties only work via the builtin DataSource: clause, not by name). The existing example mdl-examples/doctype-tests/32-pluggable-widget-object-lists-v010.mdl (OL05) documents this in its own NOTE and only exercises primitive series sub-properties.

3. AreaChart builds with CE0463 (P1, unconfirmed)

The one registered chart (AreaChart) reportedly builds with CE0463 "definition of this widget has changed" (envelope/augment drift) — same class as #600 (embedded 11.6 baseline vs installed Charts 6.x). Not independently reproduced here; needs Studio-Pro verification.

Net / impact

The architecturally-correct dashboard recommendation (Charts widget) currently requires Studio Pro or the experimental MCP backend. Headless/mxcli-only authoring falls back to styled-container "charts."

Fixes

• Multi-widget .mpk support (this issue's tractable core): register/augment all widgets in a bundled .mpk, not just WidgetFiles[0]. Registers BarChart/ColumnChart/PieChart/LineChart/etc. and also closes the latent bundled-augment gap from DataGrid 2 - Every time I need to upgrade manually since the definition of this widget has changed #600.
• Per-series datasource binding: allow datasource expressions in object-list item sub-properties (ties to Datasource-typed pluggable-widget property passes 'check' but is silently dropped at 'exec' (CE0642) #643's datasource-by-name work).
• AreaChart CE0463: resolve envelope/augment drift (needs Studio-Pro reference).
• Docs: generated .ai-context/skills/widgets/*.md should show a real object-list-item example (per-series datasource) once the grammar supports it.

Repro

create or replace page MyFirstModule.Dashboard (Title: 'D', Layout: Atlas_Core.Atlas_Default) {
  pluggablewidget 'com.mendix.widget.web.barchart.BarChart' bc (DataSource: DATABASE FROM MyFirstModule.E) { }
}

mxcli exec → "no definition for widget com.mendix.widget.web.barchart.BarChart" (even after mxcli widget init).

[github-actions]

Issue Triage

Summary:
Chart widgets cannot be used in mxcli MDL because only the first widget in a bundled .mpk is registered, series datasources can’t be set, and the AreaChart may show a definition‑changed error.

Checklist of required bug‑report information

Required info	Present?	Details
mxcli version	❌	Not mentioned
Mendix version	❌	Not mentioned
Scenario (what the user tried)	✅	MDL script with pluggablewidget 'com.mendix.widget.web.barchart.BarChart' and mxcli exec
Expected output	✅	Widget should be defined and usable
Experienced output (error)	✅	“no definition for widget … (run 'mxcli widget init')”
AI bug report (mxcli diag --bundle or session log)	❌	Not provided

What’s missing:
Please add the output of mxcli --version (or the commit/build info), the Mendix version of the project you’re working with, and run mxcli diag --bundle (or at least share the relevant session log) so we can reproduce the environment and confirm the fix.

Thanks for the detailed description—once we have those pieces we can move forward!

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