diff --git a/src/interpreter.cpp b/src/interpreter.cpp
index 0a4f59e..eb0fd66 100644
--- a/src/interpreter.cpp
+++ b/src/interpreter.cpp
@@ -150,6 +150,12 @@
     case yang::NodeTypes::List:
         ss << "list";
         break;
+    case yang::NodeTypes::Action:
+    case yang::NodeTypes::AnyXml:
+    case yang::NodeTypes::LeafList:
+    case yang::NodeTypes::Notification:
+    case yang::NodeTypes::Rpc:
+        throw std::logic_error("describe got an rpc or an action: this should never happen, because their paths cannot be parsed");
     }
 
     if (!m_datastore.schema()->isConfig(path)) {