diff --git a/pkg/workflow/compiler.go b/pkg/workflow/compiler.go
index a520aae497..55e6608e22 100644
--- a/pkg/workflow/compiler.go
+++ b/pkg/workflow/compiler.go
@@ -1444,8 +1444,7 @@ func (c *Compiler) parseOnSection(frontmatter map[string]any, workflowData *Work
 				if reactionStr, ok := reactionValue.(string); ok {
 					// Validate reaction value
 					if !isValidReaction(reactionStr) {
-						validValues := []string{"+1", "-1", "laugh", "confused", "heart", "hooray", "rocket", "eyes"}
-						return fmt.Errorf("invalid reaction value '%s': must be one of %v", reactionStr, validValues)
+						return fmt.Errorf("invalid reaction value '%s': must be one of %v", reactionStr, getValidReactions())
 					}
 					workflowData.AIReaction = reactionStr
 				}
diff --git a/pkg/workflow/reactions.go b/pkg/workflow/reactions.go
index 1f920a879e..87d96f14e3 100644
--- a/pkg/workflow/reactions.go
+++ b/pkg/workflow/reactions.go
@@ -1,16 +1,27 @@
 package workflow
 
+// validReactions defines the set of valid reaction values
+var validReactions = map[string]bool{
+	"+1":       true,
+	"-1":       true,
+	"laugh":    true,
+	"confused": true,
+	"heart":    true,
+	"hooray":   true,
+	"rocket":   true,
+	"eyes":     true,
+}
+
 // isValidReaction checks if a reaction value is valid according to the schema
 func isValidReaction(reaction string) bool {
-	validReactions := map[string]bool{
-		"+1":       true,
-		"-1":       true,
-		"laugh":    true,
-		"confused": true,
-		"heart":    true,
-		"hooray":   true,
-		"rocket":   true,
-		"eyes":     true,
-	}
 	return validReactions[reaction]
 }
+
+// getValidReactions returns the list of valid reaction entries
+func getValidReactions() []string {
+	reactions := make([]string, 0, len(validReactions))
+	for reaction := range validReactions {
+		reactions = append(reactions, reaction)
+	}
+	return reactions
+}