Budibase/budibase · error · Error

actionType ${query.extra.actionType} does not exist on DB fo

Error message

actionType ${query.extra.actionType} does not exist on DB for update

What it means

MongoDB integration's update() switches on query.extra.actionType to pick updateOne or updateMany (with filter, update, options). If the actionType is not a supported update operation, the default branch throws 'actionType <X> does not exist on DB for update'.

Source

Thrown at packages/server/src/integrations/mongodb.ts:594

      }

      switch (query.extra.actionType) {
        case "updateOne": {
          return await collection.updateOne(
            json.filter,
            json.update,
            json.options as UpdateOptions
          )
        }
        case "updateMany": {
          return await collection.updateMany(
            json.filter,
            json.update,
            json.options as UpdateOptions
          )
        }
        default: {
          throw new Error(
            `actionType ${query.extra.actionType} does not exist on DB for update`
          )
        }
      }
    } catch (err) {
      console.error("Error writing to mongodb", err)
      throw err
    } finally {
      await this.client.close()
    }
  }

  async delete(query: MongoDBQuery): Promise<DeleteResult> {
    try {
      await this.connect()
      const db = this.client.db(this.config.db)
      const collection = db.collection(query.extra.collection)
      let queryJson = query.json

View on GitHub (pinned to a81a902e9a)

Solutions

Set query.extra.actionType to exactly "updateOne" or "updateMany"
Ensure the JSON payload includes filter and update fields compatible with the chosen action
Re-create or re-save the query in the builder so the generated payload matches the operation
Validate actionType against the supported list before execution

Example fix

// before
const query = { table: "users", json: { filter: { _id: 1 }, update: { $set: { name: "x" } } }, extra: { actionType: "update" } }
// after
const query = { table: "users", json: { filter: { _id: 1 }, update: { $set: { name: "x" } } }, extra: { actionType: "updateOne" } }

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const UPDATE_ACTIONS = ["updateOne", "updateMany"]
if (!UPDATE_ACTIONS.includes(query.extra?.actionType)) {
  throw new Error(`Invalid update actionType: ${query.extra?.actionType}`)
}
await ds.update(query)

Type guard

function isUpdateAction(t: unknown): t is "updateOne" | "updateMany" {
  return t === "updateOne" || t === "updateMany"
}

Try / catch

try {
  await ds.update(query)
} catch (err) {
  if (err.message.includes("does not exist on DB for update")) {
    throw new Error(`Unsupported MongoDB update action "${query.extra?.actionType}"; use updateOne or updateMany`, { cause: err })
  }
  throw err
}

Prevention

Use exactly updateOne/updateMany, not shell-style 'update' or 'replaceOne' unless supported
Always include filter and update in the JSON payload
Generate queries via the builder to avoid actionType drift
Validate actionType when importing or hand-editing query definitions

When it happens

Trigger: Executing an update query whose actionType is misspelled, empty, or not an update-family action (e.g. 'update' instead of 'updateOne', or 'replaceOne' when unsupported by the mapping).

Common situations: Hand-built JSON payloads missing the exact action names; queries copied from MongoDB shell syntax into Budibase queries; schema drift after editing a query's operation type in the UI.

Understand the failure class

Background: UnsupportedOperationException and "is not supported" errors: when a library deliberately refuses a call — this error's family across 30 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of Budibase/budibase@a81a902e9a (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2e21f9ef3c1c61cc. Report an issue: GitHub.