Budibase/budibase · error · HTTPError

Unsupported import data

Error message

Unsupported import data

What it means

When no `type` is given, RestImporter.init tries each registered source's tryLoad in turn; if none of them can parse the payload, importer.source remains unset and it throws HTTPError 400 'Unsupported import data'. The payload is neither a valid OpenAPI 2/3 document nor a curl command.

Source

Thrown at packages/server/src/api/controllers/query/import/index.ts:211

      const factory = SOURCE_FACTORIES[type]
      if (!factory) {
        throw new HTTPError("Unsupported import type", 400)
      }

      const source = factory()
      await source.load(data)
      importer.source = source
      return importer
    } else {
      for (let source of [new OpenAPI3(), new OpenAPI2(), new Curl()]) {
        if (await source.tryLoad(data)) {
          importer.source = source
          break
        }
      }
    }
    if (!importer.source) {
      throw new HTTPError("Unsupported import data", 400)
    }
    return importer
  }

  getSource = () => this.source

  getInfo = () => this.source.getInfo()

  importQueries = async (
    datasourceId: string,
    selectedEndpointId?: string
  ): Promise<ImportResult> => {
    const filterIds = selectedEndpointId
      ? new Set<string>([selectedEndpointId])
      : undefined
    const staticVariables =
      await this.getDatasourceStaticVariables(datasourceId)
    // construct the queries

View on GitHub (pinned to a81a902e9a)

Solutions

1. Confirm the payload is a valid OpenAPI 2 (swagger 2.0) or OpenAPI 3 document, or a curl command
2. Validate the spec with an external tool (swagger-cli validate / Redocly lint) and fix parse errors
3. Export from your API tool as OpenAPI rather than Postman/RAML formats
4. Convert a single request into a curl command as a fallback import path

Example fix

// before
await RestImporter.init(JSON.stringify(postmanCollection)) // throws
// after
await RestImporter.init(yamlStringify(openapiSpec)) // valid openapi3.0 doc

function looksLikeImportableSpec(data: string): boolean {
  const t = data.trim()
  if (t.startsWith("curl ")) return true
  try {
    const doc = JSON.parse(t)
    return !!(doc.openapi?.startsWith("3") || doc.swagger === "2.0")
  } catch {
    return /(^|\n)openapi:\s*3|(^|\n)swagger:\s*["']?2/.test(t)
  }
}

null

try {
  await RestImporter.init(data)
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e?.message).includes("Unsupported import data")) {
    // surface: 'Not an OpenAPI 2/3 document or curl command'
  }
  throw e
}

When it happens

Trigger: Auto-detect import with data that is arbitrary JSON (e.g. a Postman collection), plain HTTP snippets, XML/WADL, truncated YAML, or an empty string that slipped past validation.

Common situations: Users paste a Postman collection expecting OpenAPI import; a GraphQL schema pasted into the REST importer; a spec so malformed that both OpenAPI parsers reject it; exporting from a tool that produces RAML or API Blueprint.

Related errors

• Selected endpoint could not be imported
• Failed to load OpenAPI 3 document
• Invalid import url
• Only HTTP(S) URLs are allowed for query import
• Import url must not contain credentials

AI-assisted analysis of Budibase/budibase@a81a902e9a (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/28f9ff517789093c. Report an issue: GitHub.