Semantic-Org/Semantic-UI · warning

{name} must have {ruleValue} or less choices

Error message

{name} must have {ruleValue} or less choices

What it means

Semantic UI Form 'maxCount' rule message. The rule (form.js:1693) asserts the comma-split selection count is <= ruleValue. Fires for multi-select/checkbox-group fields when the user has selected more than the configured maximum.

Source

Thrown at src/definitions/behaviors/form.js:1279

    number               : '{name} must be set to a number',
    is                   : '{name} must be "{ruleValue}"',
    isExactly            : '{name} must be exactly "{ruleValue}"',
    not                  : '{name} cannot be set to "{ruleValue}"',
    notExactly           : '{name} cannot be set to exactly "{ruleValue}"',
    contain              : '{name} must contain "{ruleValue}"',
    containExactly       : '{name} must contain exactly "{ruleValue}"',
    doesntContain        : '{name} cannot contain  "{ruleValue}"',
    doesntContainExactly : '{name} cannot contain exactly "{ruleValue}"',
    minLength            : '{name} must be at least {ruleValue} characters',
    length               : '{name} must be at least {ruleValue} characters',
    exactLength          : '{name} must be exactly {ruleValue} characters',
    maxLength            : '{name} cannot be longer than {ruleValue} characters',
    match                : '{name} must match {ruleValue} field',
    different            : '{name} must have a different value than {ruleValue} field',
    creditCard           : '{name} must be a valid credit card number',
    minCount             : '{name} must have at least {ruleValue} choices',
    exactCount           : '{name} must have exactly {ruleValue} choices',
    maxCount             : '{name} must have {ruleValue} or less choices'
  },

  selector : {
    checkbox   : 'input[type="checkbox"], input[type="radio"]',
    clear      : '.clear',
    field      : 'input, textarea, select',
    group      : '.field',
    input      : 'input',
    message    : '.error.message',
    prompt     : '.prompt.label',
    radio      : 'input[type="radio"]',
    reset      : '.reset:not([type="reset"])',
    submit     : '.submit:not([type="submit"])',
    uiCheckbox : '.ui.checkbox',
    uiDropdown : '.ui.dropdown'
  },

  className : {

View on GitHub (pinned to 597843ab84)

Solutions

1. Reduce the selection so the count is <= maxCount.
2. Re-check that the field is a multi-select/checkbox group and not a single text input (use maxLength for character limits).
3. Align maxCount with the matching server-side limit to avoid submitting then being rejected.

Example fix

// before
rules: [{ type: 'maxCount[3]' }] // 4 selected
// after
rules: [{ type: 'maxCount[4]' }]

function underMaxCount(fieldId, max) {
  return document.querySelectorAll('input[name="' + fieldId + '"]:checked').length <= max;
}
if (!underMaxCount('perms', 5)) { /* warn before submit */ }

function isMaxCountRule(rule) {
  return typeof rule === 'object' && typeof rule.type === 'string' && /^maxCount\[\d+\]$/.test(rule.type);
}

When it happens

Trigger: A field with rules:[{type:'maxCount[N]'}] whose comma-joined value has more than N entries; e.g. maxCount[3] but the user toggled 4 checkboxes.

Common situations: Limiting tag selection, role assignment, or file count; accidentally using maxCount on a free-text field; off-by-one between server-side and client-side limits.

Related errors

• {name} must have at least {ruleValue} choices
• {name} must have exactly {ruleValue} choices
• {name} must be a valid url
• {name} is not formatted correctly
• {name} must be an integer

AI-assisted analysis of Semantic-Org/Semantic-UI@597843ab84 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/780842334ff8687f. Report an issue: GitHub.