FatalCommands & Packages
\verb or \verbatim Inside Command Argument
! Argument of \XXX has an extra }.
What this error means
\verb and verbatim environments are 'fragile' — they cannot be used inside arguments to other commands. Using \verb inside \section{}, \caption{}, footnotes, or similar commands causes a cryptic brace mismatch error.
Common causes
- \verb|...| used inside \section{} or \caption{}
- \verb used inside \footnote{} or \marginpar{}
- Verbatim environment used inside a box or table cell
How to fix it
Replace \verb with \texttt{} for monospace text inside command arguments. If you need true verbatim in a caption, use the caption package with the \protect\verb workaround, or use \lstinline from the listings package.
Code examples
Causes the error
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\section{Using \verb|\textbf{}| in LaTeX} % Error!
\end{document}Fixed
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\section{Using \texttt{\textbackslash textbf\{\}} in LaTeX}
\end{document}Related errors
Test the fix live
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