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Common validation errors when creating issue forms

You may see some of these common validation errors when creating, saving, or viewing issue forms.

Note: Issue forms are currently in public preview and subject to change.

Required top level key name is missing

The template does not contain a name field, which means it is not clear what to call your issue template when giving users a list of options.

Example of "required top level key name is missing" error

description: "Thank you for reporting a bug!"
...

The error can be fixed by adding name as a key.

name: "Bug report"
description: "Thank you for reporting a bug!"
...

key must be a string

This error message means that a permitted key has been provided, but its value cannot be parsed as the data type is not supported.

Example of "key must be a string" error

The description below is being parsed as a Boolean, but it should be a string.

name: "Bug report"
description: true
...

The error can be fixed by providing a string as the value. Strings may need to be wrapped in double quotes to be successfully parsed. For example, strings that contain ' must be wrapped in double quotes.

name: "Bug report"
description: "true"
...

Empty strings, or strings consisting of only whitespaces, are also not permissible when the field expects a string.

name: ""
description: "File a bug report"
assignees: "      "
...

The error can be fixed by correcting the value to be a non-empty string. If the field is not required, you should delete the key-value pair.

name: "Bug Report"
description: "File a bug report"
...

input is not a permitted key

An unexpected key was supplied at the top level of the template. For more information about which top-level keys are supported, see "Syntax for issue forms."

Example of "input is not a permitted key" error

name: "Bug report"
hello: world
...

The error can be fixed by removing the unexpected keys.

name: "Bug report"
...

Forbidden keys

YAML parses certain strings as Boolean values. To avoid this, we have explicitly forbidden the usage of the following keys:

y, Y, yes, Yes, YES, n, N, no, No, NO, true, True, TRUE, false, False, FALSE, on, On, ON, off, Off, OFF

The error can be fixed by removing the forbidden keys.

Body must contain at least one non-markdown field

Issue forms must accept user input, which means that at least one of its fields must contain a user input field. A markdown element is static text, so a body array cannot contain only markdown elements.

Example of "body must contain at least one non-markdown field" error

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Bugs are the worst!"

The error can be fixed by adding non-markdown elements that accept user input.

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Bugs are the worst!"
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: "What's wrong?"

Body must have unique ids

If using id attributes to distinguish multiple elements, each id attribute must be unique.

Example of "body must have unique ids" error

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: input
  id: name
  attributes:
    label: First name
- type: input
  id: name
  attributes:
    label: Last name

The error can be fixed by changing the id for one of these inputs, so that every input field has a unique id attribute.

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: input
  id: name
  attributes:
    label: First name
- type: input
  id: surname
  attributes:
    label: Last name

Body must have unique labels

When there are multiple body elements that accept user input, the label attribute for each user input field must be unique.

Example of "body must have unique labels" error

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: Name
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: Name

The error can be fixed by changing the label attribute for one of the input fields to ensure that each label is unique.

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: Name
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: Operating System

Input fields can also be differentiated by their id attribute. If duplicate label attributes are required, you can supply at least one id to differentiate two elements with identical labels.

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: textarea
  id: name_1
  attributes:
    label: Name
- type: textarea
  id: name_2
  attributes:
    label: Name

id attributes are not visible in the issue body. If you want to distinguish the fields in the resulting issue, you should use distinct label attributes.

Labels are too similar

Similar labels may be processed into identical references. If an id attribute is not provided for an input, the label attribute is used to generate a reference to the input field. To do this, we process the label by leveraging the Rails parameterize method. In some cases, two labels that are distinct can be processed into the same parameterized string.

Example of "labels are too similar" error

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: input
  attributes:
    label: Name?
- type: input
  id: name
  attributes:
    label: Name???????

The error can be fixed by adding at least one differentiating alphanumeric character, -, or _ to one of the clashing labels.

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: input
  attributes:
    label: Name?
- type: input
  attributes:
    label: Your name

The error can also be fixed by giving one of the clashing labels a unique id.

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: input
  attributes:
    label: Name?
- type: input
  id: your-name
  attributes:
    label: Name???????

Checkboxes must have unique labels

When a checkboxes element is present, each of its nested labels must be unique among its peers, as well as among other input types.

Example of "checkboxes must have unique labels" error

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: Name
- type: checkboxes
  attributes:
    options:
    - label: Name

The error can be fixed by changing the label attribute for one of these inputs.

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: Name
- type: checkboxes
  attributes:
    options:
    - label: Your name

Alternatively, you can supply an id to any clashing top-level elements. Nested checkbox elements do not support the id attribute.

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: textarea
  id: name_1
  attributes:
    label: Name
- type: checkboxes
  attributes:
    options:
    - label: Name

id attributes are not visible in the issue body. If you want to distinguish the fields in the resulting issue, you should use distinct label attributes.

Body[i]: required key type is missing

Each body block must contain the key type.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the zero-indexed index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: required key type is missing" error

body:
- attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."

The error can be fixed by adding the key type with a valid input type as the value. For the available body input types and their syntaxes, see "Syntax for GitHub's form schema."

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."

Body[i]: x is not a valid input type

One of the body blocks contains a type value that is not one of the permitted types.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: x is not a valid input type" error

body:
- type: x
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."

The error can be fixed by changing x to one of the valid types.

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."

Body[i]: required attribute key value is missing

One of the required value attributes has not been provided. The error occurs when a block does not have an attributes key or does not have a value key under the attributes key.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: required attribute key value is missing" error

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."
- type: markdown

The error in this example can be fixed by adding value as a key under attributes in the second list element of body.

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "This is working now!"

Body[i]: label must be a string

Within its attributes block, a value has the wrong data type.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: label must be a string" error

The label below is being parsed as a Boolean, but it should be a string.

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: Bug Description
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: true

The error can be fixed by supplying a string value for label. If you want to use a label value that may be parsed as a Boolean, integer, or decimal, you should wrap the value in quotes. For example, "true" or "1.3" instead of true or 1.3.

- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: Bug Description
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: Environment Details

Empty strings, or strings consisting of only whitespaces, are not permissible when an attribute expects a string. For example, "" or " " are not allowed.

If the attribute is required, the value must be a non-empty string. If the field is not required, you should delete the key-value pair.

body:
- type: input
  attributes:
    label: "Name"

Body[i]: id can only contain numbers, letters, -, _

id attributes can only contain alphanumeric characters, -, and _. Your template may include non-permitted characters, such as whitespace, in an id.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: id can only contain numbers, letters, -, _" error

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: input
  id: first name
  attributes:
    label: First name

The error can be fixed by ensuring that whitespaces and other non-permitted characters are removed from id values.

name: "Bug report"
body:
- type: input
  id: first-name
  attributes:
    label: First name

Body[i]: x is not a permitted key

An unexpected key, x, was provided at the same indentation level as type and attributes.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: x is not a permitted key" error

body:
- type: markdown
  x: woof
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."

The error can be fixed by removing extra keys and only using type, attributes, and id.

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug! If you need real-time help, join us on Discord."

Body[i]: label contains forbidden word

To minimize the risk of private information and credentials being posted publicly in GitHub Issues, some words commonly used by attackers are not permitted in the label of input or textarea elements.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: label contains forbidden word" error

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: Hello world!
- type: input
  attributes:
    label: Password

The error can be fixed by removing terms like "password" from any label fields.

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: Hello world!
- type: input
  attributes:
    label: Username

Body[i]: x is not a permitted attribute

An invalid key has been supplied in an attributes block.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: x is not a permitted attribute" error

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    x: "a random key!"
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug!"

The error can be fixed by removing extra keys and only using permitted attributes.

body:
- type: markdown
  attributes:
    value: "Thanks for taking the time to fill out this bug!"

Body[i]: options must be unique

For checkboxes and dropdown input types, the choices defined in the options array must be unique.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: options must be unique" error

body:
- type: dropdown
  attributes:
    label: Favorite dessert
    options:
      - ice cream
      - ice cream
      - pie

The error can be fixed by ensuring that no duplicate choices exist in the options array.

body:
- type: dropdown
  attributes:
    label: Favorite dessert
    options:
      - ice cream
      - pie

Body[i]: options must not include the reserved word, none

"None" is a reserved word in an options set because it is used to indicate non-choice when a dropdown is not required.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: options must not include the reserved word, none" error

body:
- type: dropdown
  attributes:
    label: What types of pie do you like?
    options:
      - Steak & Ale
      - Chicken & Leek
      - None
  validations:
    required: true

The error can be fixed by removing "None" as an option. If you want a contributor to be able to indicate that they like none of those types of pies, you can additionally remove the required validation.

body:
- type: dropdown
  attributes:
    label: What types of pie do you like?
    options:
      - Steak & Ale
      - Chicken & Leek

In this example, "None" will be auto-populated as a selectable option.

Body[i]: options must not include booleans. Please wrap values such as 'yes', and 'true' in quotes

There are a number of English words that become processed into Boolean values by the YAML parser unless they are wrapped in quotes. For dropdown options, all items must be strings rather than Booleans.

Errors with body will be prefixed with body[i] where i represents the index of the body block containing the error. For example, body[0] tells us that the error has been caused by the first block in the body list.

Example of "body[i]: options must not include booleans. Please wrap values such as 'yes', and 'true' in quotes" error

body:
- type: dropdown
  attributes:
    label: Do you like pie?
    options:
      - Yes
      - No
      - Maybe

The error can be fixed by wrapping each offending option in quotes, to prevent them from being processed as Boolean values.

body:
- type: dropdown
  attributes:
    label: Do you like pie?
    options:
      - "Yes"
      - "No"
      - Maybe

Body cannot be empty

The template body key:value pair cannot be empty. For more information about which top-level keys are required, see "Syntax for issue forms."

The error can be fixed by adding the body: section.

Example of "body cannot be empty" error

name: Support Request
description: Something went wrong and you need help?
---
body:
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: "What's wrong?"

In this example, the error can be fixed by deleting the --- (document separator) between the headers and the body section.

name: Support Request
description: Something went wrong and you need help?

body:
- type: textarea
  attributes:
    label: "What's wrong?"

Further reading