An invalid meta-item was used inside an attribute. Erroneous code example: ```compile_fail,E0539 #![feature(staged_api)] #![allow(internal_features)] #![stable(since = "1.0.0", feature = "test")] #[deprecated(note)] // error! #[unstable(feature = "deprecated_fn", issue = "123")] fn deprecated() {} #[unstable(feature = "unstable_struct", issue)] // error! struct Unstable; #[rustc_const_unstable(feature)] // error! const fn unstable_fn() {} #[stable(feature = "stable_struct", since)] // error! struct Stable; #[rustc_const_stable(feature)] // error! const fn stable_fn() {} ``` To fix the above example, you can write the following: ``` #![feature(staged_api)] #![allow(internal_features)] #![stable(since = "1.0.0", feature = "test")] #[deprecated(since = "1.39.0", note = "reason")] // ok! #[unstable(feature = "deprecated_fn", issue = "123")] fn deprecated() {} #[unstable(feature = "unstable_struct", issue = "123")] // ok! struct Unstable; #[rustc_const_unstable(feature = "unstable_fn", issue = "124")] // ok! const fn unstable_fn() {} #[stable(feature = "stable_struct", since = "1.39.0")] // ok! struct Stable; #[stable(feature = "stable_fn", since = "1.39.0")] #[rustc_const_stable(feature = "stable_fn", since = "1.39.0")] // ok! const fn stable_fn() {} ``` Several causes of this are, an attribute may have expected you to give a list but you gave a `name = value` pair: ```compile_fail,E0539 // wrong, should be `#[repr(C)]` #[repr = "C"] struct Foo {} ``` Or a `name = value` pair, but you gave a list: ```compile_fail,E0539 // wrong, should be `note = "reason"` #[deprecated(since = "1.0.0", note("reason"))] struct Foo {} ``` Or it expected some specific word but you gave an unexpected one: ```compile_fail,E0539 // should be `always` or `never` #[inline(maybe_if_you_feel_like_it)] fn foo() {} ```