---
title: MARKLESS_ELEMENT_HANDLE_IDREF_UNBOUND
description: "element() handle is referenced but never bound: a Markless compiler error."
sidebar: { hidden: true }
search: { keywords: ["ELEMENT_HANDLE_IDREF_UNBOUND","element handle idref unbound","markless error"] }
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---

**Error** from the compiler, while it builds your `.tsrx` files.

## What happened

Markless prints the message, the reason, and a suggestion:

```text
MARKLESS_ELEMENT_HANDLE_IDREF_UNBOUND: Cannot resolve <attributeName>={<source>} because "<handleName>" is never bound with el={<handleName>} in this component.
An IDREF position names another element. With no el={handle} binding there is no element to name, so the compiler would emit an attribute pointing at nothing - a silently broken relationship that renders correctly and helps nobody.
Bind the handle to the element it names with el={<handleName>}, or remove the <attributeName> attribute.
https://markless.dev/errors/MARKLESS_ELEMENT_HANDLE_IDREF_UNBOUND
```

Words in angle brackets change from case to case.

## How to fix it

Start with the suggestion in the message above.

This page has no guide yet. [Help write it](/contributing/improve-these-docs).

## Where it comes from

`@markless/compiler` raises this code. Source:

- [packages/compiler/src/passes/semantic-graph/diagnostics.ts](https://github.com/compiled-run/markless/blob/main/packages/compiler/src/passes/semantic-graph/diagnostics.ts)

Read [how to read a Markless error](/tooling/diagnostics), or go back to [all error codes](/errors).