diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index bfe98e96a..b7bbb072b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ jobs:
           poetry run isort . --check
           poetry run black . --check
 
+  # The "testing" job verifies the base SDK functionality across
+  # all supported Python versions.
   testing:
     needs: styling
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -62,10 +64,40 @@ jobs:
         run: poetry run mypy --ignore-missing-imports
       - name: unit tests
         run: poetry run pytest tests/unit --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
+      - name: build tests
+        run: poetry build
+
+  # We only run "integration" tests on the latest Python version.
+  # These tests detect if changes to ontologies, libraries, models and BuildingMOTIF
+  # affect correct operation of notebooks and BACnet scans. Library integration testing
+  # is a separate job
+  integration:
+    needs: styling
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        python-version: ['3.11']
+    steps:
+      - name: checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-java@v4 # for topquadrant shacl support
+        with:
+          distribution: 'temurin'
+          java-version: '21'
+      - name: setup-python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
+      - name: install-poetry
+        uses: snok/install-poetry@v1
+        with:
+          version: 1.4.0
+          virtualenvs-in-project: false
+          virtualenvs-path: ~/.virtualenvs
+      - name: poetry install
+        run: poetry install --all-extras
       - name: integration tests
         run: poetry run pytest tests/integration
-      - name: library tests
-        run: poetry run pytest tests/library
       - name: bacnet tests
         run: |
           cd tests/integration/fixtures/bacnet
@@ -73,8 +105,37 @@ jobs:
           docker compose run -d device
           docker compose run buildingmotif poetry run pytest -m bacnet
           docker compose down
-      - name: build tests
-        run: poetry build
+
+  # We only run "library" tests on the latest Python version.
+  # These tests detect if changes to ontologies, libraries, models and BuildingMOTIF
+  # affect correct operation of templates, shapes, and validation
+  libraries:
+    needs: styling
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        python-version: ['3.11']
+    steps:
+      - name: checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-java@v4 # for topquadrant shacl support
+        with:
+          distribution: 'temurin'
+          java-version: '21'
+      - name: setup-python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
+      - name: install-poetry
+        uses: snok/install-poetry@v1
+        with:
+          version: 1.4.0
+          virtualenvs-in-project: false
+          virtualenvs-path: ~/.virtualenvs
+      - name: poetry install
+        run: poetry install --all-extras
+      - name: library tests
+        run: poetry run pytest tests/library
 
   coverage:
     needs: testing
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/handle-error.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/handle-error.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e77845db7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/handle-error.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+import { HttpErrorResponse } from '@angular/common/http';
+import { throwError } from 'rxjs';
+
+export function handleError(error: HttpErrorResponse) {
+    if (error.status === 0) {
+        // A client-side or network error occurred. Handle it accordingly.
+        console.error('An error occurred:', error.error);
+    } else {
+        // The backend returned an unsuccessful response code.
+        // The response body may contain clues as to what went wrong.
+        console.error(
+            `Backend returned code ${error.status}, body was: `, error.error);
+    }
+    // Return an observable with a user-facing error message.
+    return throwError(() => new Error(`${error.status}: ${error.error}`));
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/library/library.service.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/library/library.service.ts
index ff89ae22f..07285a4ba 100644
--- a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/library/library.service.ts
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/library/library.service.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import { HttpErrorResponse, HttpResponse } from '@angular/common/http';
 
 import { Observable, throwError } from 'rxjs';
 import { catchError, retry } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { environment } from '../../environments/environment';
+import { handleError } from '../handle-error';
+
+const API_URL = environment.API_URL;
 
 export interface Library {
   name: string;
@@ -35,42 +39,26 @@ export class LibraryService {
   constructor(private http: HttpClient) { }
 
   getAllLibraries() {
-    return this.http.get<Library[]>("http://localhost:5000/libraries")
+    return this.http.get<Library[]>(API_URL + `/libraries`)
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
   getAllShapes() {
-    return this.http.get<{[definition_type: string]: Shape[]}>("http://localhost:5000/libraries/shapes")
+    return this.http.get<{[definition_type: string]: Shape[]}>(API_URL + `/libraries/shapes`)
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
   getLibrarysTemplates(library_id: number) {
-    return this.http.get<Library>(`http://localhost:5000/libraries/${library_id}?expand_templates=True`)
+    return this.http.get<Library>(API_URL + `/libraries/${library_id}?expand_templates=True`)
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError), // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError), // then handle the error
       );
   }
-
- 
-  private handleError(error: HttpErrorResponse) {
-    if (error.status === 0) {
-      // A client-side or network error occurred. Handle it accordingly.
-      console.error('An error occurred:', error.error);
-    } else {
-      // The backend returned an unsuccessful response code.
-      // The response body may contain clues as to what went wrong.
-      console.error(
-        `Backend returned code ${error.status}, body was: `, error.error);
-    }
-    // Return an observable with a user-facing error message.
-    return throwError(() => new Error(`${error.status}: ${error.error}`));
-  }
-
 }
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-detail/model-detail.service.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-detail/model-detail.service.ts
index 2925f5987..5e44caefe 100644
--- a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-detail/model-detail.service.ts
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-detail/model-detail.service.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import { HttpErrorResponse, HttpHeaders } from '@angular/common/http';
 import { Model } from '../types'
 import { Observable, throwError } from 'rxjs';
 import { catchError, retry } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { environment } from '../../environments/environment';
+import { handleError } from '../handle-error';
+
+const API_URL = environment.API_URL;
 
 @Injectable({
   providedIn: 'root'
@@ -13,36 +17,36 @@ export class ModelDetailService {
   constructor(private http: HttpClient) { }
 
   getModel(id: number) {
-    return this.http.get<Model>(`http://localhost:5000/models/${id}`)
+    return this.http.get<Model>(API_URL + `/models/${id}`)
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
   getModelGraph(id: number) {
-    return this.http.get(`http://localhost:5000/models/${id}/graph`, {responseType: 'text'})
+    return this.http.get(API_URL + `/models/${id}/graph`, {responseType: 'text'})
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
   getTargetNodes(id: number) {
-    return this.http.get<string[]>(`http://localhost:5000/models/${id}/target_nodes`)
+    return this.http.get<string[]>(API_URL + `/models/${id}/target_nodes`)
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
   updateModelGraph(id: number, newGraph: string | File, append: boolean = false) {
     const headers = {'Content-Type': "application/xml"}
 
-    return this.http[append? "patch": "put"](`http://localhost:5000/models/${id}/graph`, newGraph, {headers, responseType: 'text'})
+    return this.http[append? "patch": "put"](API_URL + `/models/${id}/graph`, newGraph, {headers, responseType: 'text'})
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-new/model-new.service.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-new/model-new.service.ts
index 54cbbf0b7..efceb7d1a 100644
--- a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-new/model-new.service.ts
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-new/model-new.service.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import { HttpErrorResponse, HttpHeaders } from '@angular/common/http';
 import { Model } from '../types'
 import { Observable, throwError } from 'rxjs';
 import { catchError, retry } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { environment } from '../../environments/environment';
+import { handleError } from '../handle-error';
+
+const API_URL = environment.API_URL;
 
 @Injectable({
   providedIn: 'root'
@@ -15,10 +19,10 @@ export class ModelNewService {
   createModel(name: string, description: string): Observable<Model | any> {
     const headers = {'Content-Type': "application/json"}
 
-    return this.http.post(`http://localhost:5000/models`, {name: name, description: description}, {headers, responseType: 'json'})
+    return this.http.post(API_URL + `/models`, {name: name, description: description}, {headers, responseType: 'json'})
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-validate/model-validate.service.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-validate/model-validate.service.ts
index 291aed1a7..b35e0d6b7 100644
--- a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-validate/model-validate.service.ts
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/model-validate/model-validate.service.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@ import { HttpErrorResponse } from '@angular/common/http';
 import { Model } from '../types'
 import { throwError } from 'rxjs';
 import { catchError, retry } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { environment } from '../../environments/environment';
+import { handleError } from '../handle-error';
 
+const API_URL = environment.API_URL;
 @Injectable({
   providedIn: 'root'
 })
@@ -15,13 +18,13 @@ export class ModelValidateService {
   validateModel(modelId: number, args: number[]) {
     const headers = {'Content-Type': "application/json"}
 
-    return this.http.post<ValidationResponse>(`http://localhost:5000/models/${modelId}/validate`,
+    return this.http.post<ValidationResponse>(API_URL + `/models/${modelId}/validate`,
         {"library_ids": args},
         {headers, responseType: 'json'}
       )
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/pointlabel-parser/pointlabel-parser.service.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/pointlabel-parser/pointlabel-parser.service.ts
index ac6bd9553..48858632c 100644
--- a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/pointlabel-parser/pointlabel-parser.service.ts
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/pointlabel-parser/pointlabel-parser.service.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import { HttpErrorResponse, HttpHeaders } from '@angular/common/http';
 import { Model } from '../types'
 import { Observable, throwError } from 'rxjs';
 import { catchError, retry } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { environment } from '../../environments/environment';
+import { handleError } from '../handle-error';
+
+const API_URL = environment.API_URL;
 
 @Injectable({
   providedIn: 'root'
@@ -15,10 +19,10 @@ export class PointlabelParserService {
   parse(pointlabels: string, parsers: string): Observable<Model | any> {
     const headers = {'Content-Type': "application/json"}
 
-    return this.http.post(`http://localhost:5000/parsers`, {point_labels: pointlabels, parsers}, {headers, responseType: 'json'})
+    return this.http.post(API_URL + `/parsers`, {point_labels: pointlabels, parsers}, {headers, responseType: 'json'})
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/shape-validation/shape-validate.service.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/shape-validation/shape-validate.service.ts
index 2052d70a7..83414be36 100644
--- a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/shape-validation/shape-validate.service.ts
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/shape-validation/shape-validate.service.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import { HttpErrorResponse } from '@angular/common/http';
 import { Model } from '../types'
 import { throwError } from 'rxjs';
 import { catchError, retry } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { environment } from '../../environments/environment';
+import { handleError } from '../handle-error';
+
+const API_URL = environment.API_URL;
 
 @Injectable({
   providedIn: 'root'
@@ -15,13 +19,13 @@ export class ShapeValidationService {
   validateModelShape(modelId: number, shape_collection_ids: number[], shape_uris: string[], target_class: string) {
     const headers = {'Content-Type': "application/json"}
 
-    return this.http.post<Record<string, string[]>>(`http://localhost:5000/models/${modelId}/validate_shape`,
+    return this.http.post<Record<string, string[]>>(API_URL + `/models/${modelId}/validate_shape`,
         {shape_collection_ids, shape_uris, target_class},
         {headers, responseType: 'json'}
       )
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/template-detail/template-detail.service.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/template-detail/template-detail.service.ts
index ff1286c83..15d770fad 100644
--- a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/template-detail/template-detail.service.ts
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/template-detail/template-detail.service.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import { HttpErrorResponse, HttpResponse } from '@angular/common/http';
 
 import { Observable, throwError } from 'rxjs';
 import { catchError, retry } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { environment } from '../../environments/environment';
+import { handleError } from '../handle-error';
+
+const API_URL = environment.API_URL;
 
 export interface Template {
   name: string;
@@ -20,10 +24,10 @@ export class TemplateDetailService {
   constructor(private http: HttpClient) { }
 
   getTemplate(id: number, includeParameters: boolean =false) {
-    return this.http.get<Template>(`http://localhost:5000/templates/${id}?parameters=${includeParameters}`)
+    return this.http.get<Template>(API_URL + `/templates/${id}?parameters=${includeParameters}`)
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
   }
 
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/template-evaluate/template-evaluate.service.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/template-evaluate/template-evaluate.service.ts
index c631a178d..afb21d68e 100644
--- a/buildingmotif-app/src/app/template-evaluate/template-evaluate.service.ts
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/app/template-evaluate/template-evaluate.service.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import { HttpErrorResponse, HttpResponse } from '@angular/common/http';
 
 import { Observable, throwError } from 'rxjs';
 import { catchError, retry } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { environment } from '../../environments/environment';
+import { handleError } from '../handle-error';
+
+const API_URL = environment.API_URL;
 
 export interface Template {
   name: string;
@@ -25,26 +29,26 @@ export class TemplateEvaluateService {
     }, {})
 
     return this.http.post(
-      `http://localhost:5000/templates/${templateId}/evaluate/bindings`,
+      API_URL + `/templates/${templateId}/evaluate/bindings`,
       {model_id: modelId, bindings},
       {responseType: 'text'}
       )
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
 
   }
 
   evaluateTemplateIngress(templateId: number, modelId: number, file: File) {
     return this.http.post(
-      `http://localhost:5000/templates/${templateId}/evaluate/ingress?model_id=${modelId}`,
+      API_URL + `/templates/${templateId}/evaluate/ingress?model_id=${modelId}`,
       file,
       {responseType: 'text'}
       )
       .pipe(
         retry(3), // retry a failed request up to 3 times
-        catchError(this.handleError) // then handle the error
+        catchError(handleError) // then handle the error
       );
 
   }
diff --git a/buildingmotif-app/src/environments/environment.ts b/buildingmotif-app/src/environments/environment.ts
index f56ff4702..94d600e1f 100644
--- a/buildingmotif-app/src/environments/environment.ts
+++ b/buildingmotif-app/src/environments/environment.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 // The list of file replacements can be found in `angular.json`.
 
 export const environment = {
-  production: false
+  production: false,
+  API_URL: "http://localhost:5000",
 };
 
 /*
diff --git a/buildingmotif/dataclasses/model.py b/buildingmotif/dataclasses/model.py
index 3d930ac4f..74b0eda55 100644
--- a/buildingmotif/dataclasses/model.py
+++ b/buildingmotif/dataclasses/model.py
@@ -256,28 +256,26 @@ def test_model_against_shapes(
 
         results = {}
 
+        targets = model_graph.query(
+            f"""
+            PREFIX rdf: <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
+            PREFIX rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>
+            SELECT ?target
+            WHERE {{
+                ?target rdf:type/rdfs:subClassOf* <{target_class}>
+
+            }}
+        """
+        )
+        # skolemize the shape graph so we have consistent identifiers across
+        # validation through the interpretation of the validation report
+        ontology_graph = ontology_graph.skolemize()
+
         for shape_uri in shapes_to_test:
-            targets = model_graph.query(
-                f"""
-                PREFIX rdf: <http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#>
-                PREFIX rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#>
-                SELECT ?target
-                WHERE {{
-                    ?target rdf:type/rdfs:subClassOf* <{target_class}>
-
-                }}
-            """
-            )
             temp_model_graph = copy_graph(model_graph)
             for (s,) in targets:
                 temp_model_graph.add((URIRef(s), A, shape_uri))
 
-            temp_model_graph += ontology_graph.cbd(shape_uri)
-
-            # skolemize the shape graph so we have consistent identifiers across
-            # validation through the interpretation of the validation report
-            ontology_graph = ontology_graph.skolemize()
-
             valid, report_g, report_str = shacl_validate(
                 temp_model_graph, ontology_graph, engine=self._bm.shacl_engine
             )
diff --git a/buildingmotif/dataclasses/template.py b/buildingmotif/dataclasses/template.py
index 81c3a5a49..10f6708f4 100644
--- a/buildingmotif/dataclasses/template.py
+++ b/buildingmotif/dataclasses/template.py
@@ -337,7 +337,15 @@ def inline_dependencies(self) -> "Template":
                 deptempl_opt_args.update(deptempl.parameters)
 
             # convert our set of optional params to a list and assign to the parent template
-            templ.optional_args = list(templ_optional_args.union(deptempl_opt_args))
+            # 1. get required parameters from the original template
+            # 2. calculate all optional requirements from the dependency template and the original template
+            # 3. remove required parameters from the optional requirements
+            # This avoids a bug where an optional dependency makes reference to a required parameter, and then
+            # subsequent inlining of the dependency without optional args would remove the required parameter
+            required = templ.parameters - templ_optional_args
+            templ.optional_args = list(
+                templ_optional_args.union(deptempl_opt_args) - required
+            )
 
             # append the inlined template into the parent's body
             templ.body += deptempl.body
diff --git a/docs/_toc.yml b/docs/_toc.yml
index 7410c2569..6b81cfa82 100644
--- a/docs/_toc.yml
+++ b/docs/_toc.yml
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ parts:
   - file: explanations/templates.md
   - file: explanations/shapes-and-templates.md
   - file: explanations/shacl_to_sparql.md
+  - file: explanations/point-label-parsing.md
 - caption: Appendix
   chapters:
   - file: bibliography.md
diff --git a/docs/explanations/point-label-parsing.md b/docs/explanations/point-label-parsing.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5e969f9b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/explanations/point-label-parsing.md
@@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
+# Point Label Parsing
+
+The purpose of this explanation is to describe the framework for defining point label parsing rules and provide examples of how to use it.
+
+One common source of building metadata are the "point labels" used in building management systems to label or tag the input and output data points with some human-readable description.
+It is often useful to extract structured information from these labels to help with constructing a semantic model of the building.
+
+BuildingMOTIF provides a framework for defining point label naming conventions and parsing them into structured data.
+The output of this process is a set of typed <a href="../reference/apidoc/_autosummary/buildingmotif.label_parsing.html#buildingmotif.label_parsing.Token">Token</a> objects that can be input into a "Semantic Graph Synthesis" process to generate a semantic model of the building.
+
+```{admonition} Semantic Graph Synthesis
+This feature is coming soon! This label parsing framework is just part of the larger BuildingMOTIF toolkit for generating semantic models of buildings.
+```
+
+## Background
+
+The point label parsing framework in BuildingMOTIF is based on the concept of "parser combinators".
+Parser combinators are a way of defining parsers by combining smaller parsers together.
+In BuildingMOTIF, the "combinators" are defined as Python functions that take a string as input and return a list of <a href="../reference/apidoc/_autosummary/buildingmotif.label_parsing.html#buildingmotif.label_parsing.TokenResult">TokenResult</a>s.
+These combinators can be combined together to create more complex parsers.
+
+
+Here is a short example:
+
+```python
+def parse_ahu_label(label: str) -> List[TokenResult]:
+    return sequence(
+        string("AHU", Constant(BRICK.Air_Handling_Unit)),
+        string("-", Delimiter),
+        regex(r"\d+", Identifier)
+    )(label)
+```
+
+This defines a parser that matches strings like "AHU-1" or "AHU-237" and returns a list of `Token`s.
+The `sequence` combinator combines the three parsers together, and the `string` and `regex` combinators match specific strings or regular expressions.
+Using parser combinators in this way allows you to define complex parsing rules in a concise and readable way.
+
+The example output of the `parse_ahu_label` function might look like this:
+
+```python
+parse_ahu_label("AHU-1")
+# [TokenResult(value='AHU', token=Constant(value=rdflib.term.URIRef('https://brickschema.org/schema/Brick#Air_Handling_Unit')), length=3, error=None, id=None), 
+# TokenResult(value='-', token=Delimiter(value='-'), length=1, error=None, id=None),
+# TokenResult(value='1', token=Identifier(value='1'), length=1, error=None, id=None)]
+
+parse_ahu_label("AH-1")
+# [TokenResult(value=None, token=Null(value=None), length=0, error='Expected AHU, got AH-', id=None)]
+```
+
+## Parser Combinators
+
+The `buildingmotif.label_parsing.combinators` module provides a set of parser combinators for defining point label parsing rules.
+Here are some of the most commonly used combinators:
+
+- `string`: Matches a specific string and returns a `Token` with a constant value.
+- `regex`: Matches a regular expression and returns a `Token` with the matched value.
+- `choice`: Matches one of a list of parsers. Uses the first one that matches.
+- `sequence`: Matches a sequence of parsers and returns a list of `Token`s.
+- `constant`: Returns a `Token` with a constant value. Does not consume any input.
+- `many`: Matches zero or more occurrences of a parser.
+- `maybe`: Matches zero or one occurrence of a parser.
+- `until`: Matches a parser until another parser is matched.
+
+
+### Defining New Combinators
+
+These are all just Python functions, so you can define your own combinators as needed.
+
+```python
+delimiters = regex(r"[._:/\- ]", Delimiter)
+identifier = regex(r"[a-zA-Z0-9]+", Identifier)
+named_equip = sequence(equip_abbreviations, maybe(delimiters), identifier)
+named_point = sequence(point_abbreviations, maybe(delimiters), identifier)
+```
+
+More generally, a combinator is any function that takes a string as input and returns a list of `TokenResult`s.
+The methods above (`regex`, `sequence`, `delimiters`) are functions that *return* a combinator as an argument.
+
+### Abbreviations
+
+Abbreviations are a common feature of point labels.
+Strings like "AHU" for "Air Handling Unit" or "VAV" for "Variable Air Volume" are often used to save space on labels.
+You can use the `abbreviations` combinator to define a set of abbreviations and automatically expand them in the input string.
+
+We can define a dictionary of abbreviations like this:
+
+```python
+my_abbreviations = {
+    "AHU": BRICK.Air_Handling_Unit,
+    "FCU": BRICK.Fan_Coil_Unit,
+    "VAV": BRICK.Variable_Air_Volume_Box,
+    "CRAC": BRICK.Computer_Room_Air_Conditioner,
+    "HX": BRICK.Heat_Exchanger,
+    "PMP": BRICK.Pump,
+    "RVAV": BRICK.Variable_Air_Volume_Box_With_Reheat,
+    "HP": BRICK.Heat_Pump,
+    "RTU": BRICK.Rooftop_Unit,
+    "DMP": BRICK.Damper,
+    "STS": BRICK.Status,
+    "VLV": BRICK.Valve,
+    "CHVLV": BRICK.Chilled_Water_Valve,
+    "HWVLV": BRICK.Hot_Water_Valve,
+    "VFD": BRICK.Variable_Frequency_Drive,
+    "CT": BRICK.Cooling_Tower,
+    "MAU": BRICK.Makeup_Air_Unit,
+    "R": BRICK.Room,
+}
+
+my_abbreviations_parser = abbreviations(my_abbreviations)
+```
+
+Then we can use `my_abbreviations_parser` in our label parsing rules to automatically expand abbreviations.
+Note how the key of the `my_abbreviations` dictionary is the abbreviation and the value is the RDF Brick class that the abbreviation expands to.
+
+To expand our earlier example to work for other abbreviations, we can rewrite the parser like this:
+
+```python
+def parse_label(label: str) -> List[TokenResult]:
+    return sequence(
+        my_abbreviations_parser,
+        string("-", Delimiter),
+        regex(r"\d+", Identifier)
+    )(label)
+
+parse_label("AHU-1")
+# [TokenResult(value='AHU', token=Constant(value=rdflib.term.URIRef('https://brickschema.org/schema/Brick#Air_Handling_Unit')), length=3, error=None, id=None),
+# TokenResult(value='-', token=Delimiter(value='-'), length=1, error=None, id=None),
+# TokenResult(value='1', token=Identifier(value='1'), length=1, error=None, id=None)]
+
+parse_label("FCU-1")
+# [TokenResult(value='FCU', token=Constant(value=rdflib.term.URIRef('https://brickschema.org/schema/Brick#Fan_Coil_Unit')), length=3, error=None, id=None),
+# TokenResult(value='-', token=Delimiter(value='-'), length=1, error=None, id=None),
+# TokenResult(value='123', token=Identifier(value='123'), length=3, error=None, id=None)]
+
+parse_label("AH-1")
+# [TokenResult(value=None, token=Null(value=None), length=0, error='Expected
+# AHU, got AH- | Expected FCU, got AH- | Expected VAV, got AH- | Expected CRAC,
+# got AH-3 | Expected HX, got AH | Expected PMP, got AH- | Expected RVAV, got
+# AH-3 | Expected HP, got AH | Expected RTU, got AH- | Expected DMP, got AH- |
+# Expected STS, got AH- | Expected VLV, got AH- | Expected CHVLV, got AH-3 |
+# Expected HWVLV, got AH-3 | Expected VFD, got AH- | Expected CT, got AH |
+# Expected MAU, got AH- | Expected R, got A', id=None)]
+```
+
+### Error Handling
+
+The parser combinators in BuildingMOTIF provide detailed error messages when a parsing rule fails.
+This can be useful for debugging and understanding why a particular label did not match the expected format.
+The error messages include information about what was expected and what was found in the input string.
+
+If any `TokenResult` in the list has an `error` field, it means that the parsing rule failed at that point.
+
+## Example
+
+Consider these point labels:
+
+```
+:BuildingName_02:FCU503_ChwVlvPos
+:BuildingName_02:FCU510_EffOcc
+:BuildingName_02:FCU507_UnoccHtgSpt
+:BuildingName_02:FCU415_UnoccHtgSpt
+:BuildingName_01:FCU203_OccClgSpt
+:BuildingName_02:FCU529_UnoccHtgSpt
+:BuildingName_01:FCU243_EffOcc
+:BuildingName_01:FCU362_ChwVlvPos
+```
+
+We can define a set of parsing rules to extract structured data from these labels.
+This is essentially just an expression of the building point naming convention.
+
+```python
+equip_abbreviations = abbreviations(COMMON_EQUIP_ABBREVIATIONS_BRICK)
+# define our own for Points (specific to this building)
+point_abbreviations = abbreviations({
+    "ChwVlvPos": BRICK.Position_Sensor,
+    "HwVlvPos": BRICK.Position_Sensor,
+    "RoomTmp": BRICK.Air_Temperature_Sensor,
+    "Room_RH": BRICK.Relative_Humidity_Sensor,
+    "UnoccHtgSpt": BRICK.Unoccupied_Air_Temperature_Heating_Setpoint,
+    "OccHtgSpt": BRICK.Occupied_Air_Temperature_Heating_Setpoint,
+    "UnoccClgSpt": BRICK.Unoccupied_Air_Temperature_Cooling_Setpoint,
+    "OccClgSpt": BRICK.Occupied_Air_Temperature_Cooling_Setpoint,
+    "SaTmp": BRICK.Supply_Air_Temperature_Sensor,
+    "OccCmd": BRICK.Occupancy_Command,
+    "EffOcc": BRICK.Occupancy_Status,
+})
+
+def custom_parser(target):
+    return sequence(
+        string(":", Delimiter),
+        # regex until the underscore
+        constant(Constant(BRICK.Building)),
+        regex(r"[^_]+", Identifier),
+        string("_", Delimiter),
+        # number for AHU name
+        constant(Constant(BRICK.Air_Handling_Unit)),
+        regex(r"[0-9a-zA-Z]+", Identifier),
+        string(":", Delimiter),
+        # equipment types
+        equip_abbreviations,
+        # equipment ident
+        regex(r"[0-9a-zA-Z]+", Identifier),
+        string("_", Delimiter),
+        maybe(
+            sequence(regex(r"[A-Z]+[0-9]+", Identifier), string("_", Delimiter)),
+        ),
+        # point types
+        point_abbreviations,
+    )(target)
+```
diff --git a/libraries/ashrae/guideline36/5.16.14-multiple-zone-vav-ahu-afdd.ttl b/libraries/ashrae/guideline36/5.16.14-multiple-zone-vav-ahu-afdd.ttl
index 1c617367d..18f5164cf 100644
--- a/libraries/ashrae/guideline36/5.16.14-multiple-zone-vav-ahu-afdd.ttl
+++ b/libraries/ashrae/guideline36/5.16.14-multiple-zone-vav-ahu-afdd.ttl
@@ -133,11 +133,8 @@
           sh:qualifiedMinCount 1 ;
         ]
     ) ;
-    sh:property [
-        sh:path brick:hasPoint ;
-        sh:qualifiedValueShape [ sh:node :percent-oa-minimum ] ;
-        sh:qualifiedMinCount 1 ;
-    ] .
+    # use subclassof to compose shapes
+    rdfs:subClassOf :percent-oa-minimum .
 
 :percent-oa-fraction a sh:NodeShape, owl:Class ;
     rdfs:label "%OA" ;
diff --git a/notebooks/Existing-model-validation-example.ipynb b/notebooks/Existing-model-validation-example.ipynb
index 715ce390e..42f740267 100644
--- a/notebooks/Existing-model-validation-example.ipynb
+++ b/notebooks/Existing-model-validation-example.ipynb
@@ -744,7 +744,9 @@
    "outputs": [],
    "source": [
     "shape_collections = [brick.get_shape_collection(), ashrae_g36.get_shape_collection()]\n",
-    "shapes_to_test = ashrae_g36.get_shape_collection().get_shapes_of_definition_type(BMOTIF[\"Analytics_Application\"])\n"
+    "shapes_to_test = ashrae_g36.get_shape_collection().get_shapes_of_definition_type(BMOTIF[\"Analytics_Application\"])\n",
+    "# choose the first 2 shapes to test; running them all can take a few minutes\n",
+    "shapes_to_test = shapes_to_test[:2]"
    ]
   },
   {
diff --git a/tests/unit/dataclasses/test_template_generation.py b/tests/unit/dataclasses/test_template_generation.py
index f925c05a0..370ad6f38 100644
--- a/tests/unit/dataclasses/test_template_generation.py
+++ b/tests/unit/dataclasses/test_template_generation.py
@@ -65,11 +65,11 @@ def test_template_generation_inmemory(
         template = template.inline_dependencies()
     bindings, filled = template.fill(BLDG, include_optional=include_optional)
 
-    with NamedTemporaryFile(suffix=".xlsx") as dest:
+    with NamedTemporaryFile(suffix=".xlsx", delete=False) as dest:
         output = template.generate_spreadsheet()
         assert output is not None
         dest.write(output.getbuffer())
-
+        dest.flush()
         w = openpyxl.load_workbook(dest.name)
         _add_spreadsheet_row(w.active, bindings)
         w.save(Path(dest.name))
@@ -92,10 +92,10 @@ def test_template_generation_file(
         template = template.inline_dependencies()
     bindings, filled = template.fill(BLDG, include_optional=include_optional)
 
-    with NamedTemporaryFile(suffix=".xlsx") as dest:
+    with NamedTemporaryFile(suffix=".xlsx", delete=False) as dest:
         output = template.generate_spreadsheet(Path(dest.name))
         assert output is None
-
+        dest.flush()
         w = openpyxl.load_workbook(dest.name)
         _add_spreadsheet_row(w.active, bindings)
         w.save(Path(dest.name))
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ def test_csv_generation_inmemory(
         template = template.inline_dependencies()
     bindings, filled = template.fill(BLDG, include_optional=include_optional)
 
-    with NamedTemporaryFile(mode="w", suffix=".csv") as dest:
+    with NamedTemporaryFile(mode="w", suffix=".csv", delete=False) as dest:
         output = template.generate_csv()
         assert output is not None
         dest.writelines([output.getvalue()])
@@ -145,9 +145,10 @@ def test_csv_generation_file(
         template = template.inline_dependencies()
     bindings, filled = template.fill(BLDG, include_optional=include_optional)
 
-    with NamedTemporaryFile(mode="w", suffix=".csv") as dest:
+    with NamedTemporaryFile(mode="w", suffix=".csv", delete=False) as dest:
         output = template.generate_csv(Path(dest.name))
         assert output is None
+        dest.flush()
 
         with open(Path(dest.name)) as f:
             params = f.read().strip().split(",")
diff --git a/tests/unit/fixtures/optional-inline/template.yml b/tests/unit/fixtures/optional-inline/template.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..39a0b2070
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/fixtures/optional-inline/template.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+sensor:
+  body: >
+    @prefix P: <urn:___param___#> .
+    @prefix s223: <http://data.ashrae.org/standard223#> .
+    P:name a s223:Sensor ;
+      s223:observes P:property .
+
+
+water-temperature:
+  body: >
+    @prefix P: <urn:___param___#> .
+    @prefix quantitykind: <http://qudt.org/vocab/quantitykind/> .
+    @prefix qudt: <http://qudt.org/schema/qudt/> .
+    @prefix unit: <http://qudt.org/vocab/unit/> .
+    @prefix s223: <http://data.ashrae.org/standard223#> .
+    @prefix g36: <http://data.ashrae.org/standard223/1.0/extensions/g36#> .
+    P:name a s223:QuantifiableObservableProperty ;
+        qudt:hasQuantityKind quantitykind:Temperature;
+        qudt:hasUnit unit:DEG_C .
+
+
+
+hot-water-coil:
+  body: >
+    @prefix P: <urn:___param___#> .
+    @prefix s223: <http://data.ashrae.org/standard223#> .
+    @prefix g36: <http://data.ashrae.org/standard223/1.0/extensions/g36#> .
+    P:name a s223:HeatingCoil;
+      s223:hasProperty P:supply-water-temp .
+    P:supply-water-temp-sensor a s223:Sensor .
+  optional: ["supply-water-temp-sensor"]
+  dependencies:
+    - template: water-temperature
+      args: {"name": "supply-water-temp"}
+    - template: sensor
+      args: {"name": "supply-water-temp-sensor", "property": "supply-water-temp"}
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_template_api.py b/tests/unit/test_template_api.py
index 03f076d83..6d96a254c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_template_api.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_template_api.py
@@ -179,6 +179,22 @@ def test_template_inline_dependencies(bm: BuildingMOTIF):
     }
 
 
+def test_template_inline_dependencies_with_optional(bm: BuildingMOTIF):
+    # fixes https://github.com/NREL/BuildingMOTIF/issues/237
+    lib = Library.load(directory="tests/unit/fixtures/optional-inline")
+    templ = lib.get_template_by_name("hot-water-coil")
+    templ = templ.inline_dependencies()
+    bindings, _ = templ.fill(BLDG, include_optional=False)
+    assert "supply-water-temp" in bindings.keys()
+    assert "name" in bindings.keys()
+    assert "supply-water-temp-sensor" not in bindings.keys()
+
+    bindings, _ = templ.fill(BLDG, include_optional=True)
+    assert "supply-water-temp" in bindings.keys()
+    assert "name" in bindings.keys()
+    assert "supply-water-temp-sensor" in bindings.keys()
+
+
 def test_template_evaluate_with_optional(bm: BuildingMOTIF):
     """
     Test that template evaluation works with optional parameters.