import json
import re

def extract_json(raw: str) -> dict:
    if not raw or not raw.strip():
        raise ValueError("Empty LLM output")

    text = raw.strip()

    # Remove markdown fences
    text = re.sub(r"^```(?:json)?", "", text, flags=re.IGNORECASE).strip()
    text = re.sub(r"```$", "", text).strip()

    # Extract JSON object defensively
    start = text.find("{")
    end = text.rfind("}")

    if start == -1 or end == -1:
        raise ValueError("No JSON object found")

    return json.loads(text[start:end + 1])