# Why does the stacktrace stops short of the error?

**URL:** <https://racket.discourse.group/t/why-does-the-stacktrace-stops-short-of-the-error/4169>\
**Category:** Questions & Answers\
**Created:** [March 27, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/why-does-the-stacktrace-stops-short-of-the-error/4169 "2026-03-27T22:59:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MickeyKnox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MickeyKnox](https://racket.discourse.group/u/MickeyKnox)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/why-does-the-stacktrace-stops-short-of-the-error/4169/1 "2026-03-27T22:59:35Z")

</div>

I've created a minimal example for a nasty error I had:

```scheme
#lang racket

(require "foo.rkt")

(module+ main
  (run))

(define (run)
  (error-fun 7))

```

and foo.rkt:

```scheme
#lang racket

(provide error-fun)

(struct foo (num))

(define (error-fun foo)
  (foo 8))

```

When running this with `racket main.rkt` I get this error:

```scheme
application: not a procedure;
 expected a procedure that can be applied to arguments
  given: 7
  context...:
   body of (submod "/home/ingmar/projects/racket-stacktrace/main.rkt" main)

```

Mind, I know what the error is: because error-fun has a parameter named foo, the line below can't create a struct of type foo (which was the intention). I would've to rename either the struct or the parameter.

The problem I have is that the error message is not in the least helpful to find the error. Mind, this is a minimal example; I've had a similar error in a much larger codebase.

Specifically:

- The file with the error isn't mentioned at all (foo.rkt).
- The function with the error isn't mentioned either (error-fun).
- The offending line in the code isn't quoted nor the line number is displayed.

My question is, is there a better way of finding an error like this? Is there a coding style I should follow to get better error messages?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jjsimpso](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/jjsimpso/32/602_2.png) [@jjsimpso](https://racket.discourse.group/u/jjsimpso)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/why-does-the-stacktrace-stops-short-of-the-error/4169/2 "2026-03-27T23:56:42Z")

</div>

Someone else may be able to explain the lower level details as to why this is, but what you want is to compile your code with the `errortrace` module. See:

> **[1 Quick Instructions](https://docs.racket-lang.org/errortrace/quick-instructions.html)**

So running `racket -l errortrace -t main.rkt` will show the line triggering the error:

```scheme
application: not a procedure;
 expected a procedure that can be applied to arguments
  given: 7
  errortrace...:
   /home/jonathan/foo.rkt:8:2: (foo 8)
  context...:
   body of (submod "/home/jonathan/main.rkt" main)

```

Drracket and emacs(with racket-mode) both have built-in methods to run your code with `errortrace`, which makes it easy if you use those.