RocketChat/Rocket.Chat · error · Meteor.Error

error-message-size-exceeded

error-message-size-exceeded

Error message

error-message-size-exceeded

What it means

Thrown by POST /api/v1/rooms.mediaConfirm/:rid/:fileId when this.bodyParams.description length exceeds the Message_MaxAllowedSize workspace setting (the message character limit). The description will become the file message's text, so it is capped like any message; a missing description passes because the check uses ?.length ?? 0.

Solutions

  1. Truncate the description client-side before calling mediaConfirm
  2. Or raise Message_MaxAllowedSize in Administration > General > Message (requires admin)
  3. Move oversized text into the file itself instead of the description

Example fix

// before
await sdk.post(`rooms.mediaConfirm/${rid}/${fileId}`, { description: longTranscript });

// after
const MAX = 5000; // keep in sync with Message_MaxAllowedSize
await sdk.post(`rooms.mediaConfirm/${rid}/${fileId}`, { description: longTranscript.slice(0, MAX) });
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const MAX = 5000; // keep in sync with Message_MaxAllowedSize
if ((description ?? '').length > MAX) description = description.slice(0, MAX);

Try / catch

try {
  await sdk.post(`rooms.mediaConfirm/${rid}/${fileId}`, { description });
} catch (e: any) {
  if (e?.response?.data?.errorType === 'error-message-size-exceeded') {
    return sdk.post(`rooms.mediaConfirm/${rid}/${fileId}`, { description: description.slice(0, MAX) });
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: POST mediaConfirm with a long caption/description body parameter on a workspace where Message_MaxAllowedSize is at or below the default 5000 chars; descriptions assembled from logs or transcripts exceeding the cap.

Common situations: Auto-generated captions (OCR output, transcripts, log excerpts) longer than the message limit; workspaces where admins lowered Message_MaxAllowedSize but clients assumed 5000; pasting large error dumps as file descriptions.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of RocketChat/Rocket.Chat@e4b8178b20 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a2dedc168ea60425. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at apps/meteor/server/api/v1/rooms.ts:346

);

API.v1.addRoute(
	'rooms.mediaConfirm/:rid/:fileId',
	{ authRequired: true },
	{
		async post() {
			if (!(await canAccessRoomIdAsync(this.urlParams.rid, this.userId))) {
				return API.v1.forbidden();
			}

			const file = await Uploads.findOneByIdAndUserIdAndRoomId(this.urlParams.fileId, this.userId, this.urlParams.rid);

			if (!file) {
				throw new Meteor.Error('invalid-file');
			}

			if ((this.bodyParams.description?.length ?? 0) > settings.get<number>('Message_MaxAllowedSize')) {
				throw new Meteor.Error('error-message-size-exceeded');
			}

			file.description = this.bodyParams.description;
			delete this.bodyParams.description;

			if (this.bodyParams.fileName) {
				file.name = this.bodyParams.fileName;
				delete this.bodyParams.fileName;
			}

			if (this.bodyParams.fileContent) {
				file.content = this.bodyParams.fileContent;
				delete this.bodyParams.fileContent;
			}

			await applyAirGappedRestrictionsValidation(() =>
				sendFileMessage(this.userId, { roomId: this.urlParams.rid, file, msgData: this.bodyParams }),
			);

View on GitHub (pinned to e4b8178b20)