RocketChat/Rocket.Chat · error · Error

internal-error

Error message

internal-error

What it means

A defensive guard in answerCall(): the call was found, the WebRTC signal was processed via callServer.receiveSignal(), but re-reading the call with MediaCalls.findOneById immediately afterwards returned nothing. The call document disappeared mid-operation — normally because the call was concurrently ended and deleted — so the post-signal state validation cannot continue and 'internal-error' is thrown.

Source

Thrown at apps/meteor/server/services/media-call/service.ts:74

		const call = await MediaCalls.findOneByIdAndCallee<Pick<IMediaCall, '_id'>>(
			callId,
			{ type: 'user', id: uid },
			{ projection: { _id: 1 } },
		);
		if (!call) {
			throw new Error('not-found');
		}

		const signal: ClientMediaSignalAnswer = {
			type: 'answer',
			...params,
		};

		await callServer.receiveSignal(uid, signal, { throwIfSkipped: true });

		const updatedCall = await MediaCalls.findOneById(callId);
		if (!updatedCall) {
			throw new Error('internal-error');
		}

		switch (answer) {
			case 'ack':
				if (updatedCall.acceptedAt || updatedCall.ended) {
					throw new Error('invalid-call-state');
				}
				break;
			case 'reject':
				if (!updatedCall.ended || updatedCall.endedBy?.id !== uid) {
					throw new Error('invalid-call-state');
				}
				break;
			case 'accept':
				if (updatedCall.callee.contractId !== signal.contractId) {
					if (updatedCall.callee.contractId) {
						throw new Error('invalid-call-state');
					}

View on GitHub (pinned to b2c16d5842)

Solutions

1. Retry the flow from a fresh lookup: if the call is truly gone, surface 'call ended' to the user instead of an error
2. Check server logs for a concurrent end/timeout of the same callId to confirm the race
3. If it reproduces consistently with the call still present, inspect custom code paths that delete MediaCalls documents during signaling

// reduce (not eliminate) the window: confirm the call still exists right before answering
const call = await MediaCalls.findOneById(callId);
if (!call || call.ended) {
  return handleCallEnded(callId);
}
await mediaCallService.answerCall(uid, params);

const isLiveCall = (call: IMediaCall | null): call is IMediaCall => !!call && !call.ended;

try {
  return await mediaCallService.answerCall(uid, params);
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && err.message === 'internal-error') {
    const stillExists = await MediaCalls.findOneById(params.callId);
    if (!stillExists) return handleCallEnded(params.callId); // lost race with hangup: not an error for the user
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: The other party (or a timeout sweeper) ends and removes the call between the initial findOneByIdAndCallee and the follow-up read inside answerCall — a race between answering and terminating the same call.

Common situations: Caller hangs up at the same moment the callee answers; call-expiry jobs removing calls during signaling; heavy load widening the race window; custom signaling clients sending delayed answers.

Related errors

• not-found
• invalid-call-state
• error-invalid-user
• apps-engine-not-initialized
• Business hour ${department.businessHourId} not found

AI-assisted analysis of RocketChat/Rocket.Chat@b2c16d5842 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a6b5c2075cb847d1. Report an issue: GitHub.