Another l3keys puzzle : the following code \documentclass{minimal} \usepackage{expl3} \begin{document} \ExplSyntaxOn \keys_define:nn {module} { a .default:n = Alice , a .code:n = Hello #1 , } \keys_set:nn {module} {a} \ExplSyntaxOff \end{document} produces "Hello ", but if I swap the "default:n" and "code:n" line, I get "Hello Alice". The example from the documentation (latex3-source.pdf) also puts the "default:n" line last. Is that mandatory ? -- Rémy.