What causes "Slug '{slug}' is already in use" in Significant-Gravitas/AutoGPT?

Choose a different, more specific slug (add a suffix like -hq or -inc)

Significant-Gravitas/AutoGPT · error · ValueError

Slug '{slug}' is already in use

Error message

Slug '{slug}' is already in use

What it means

ValueError raised by create_org when the requested slug already exists as an organization slug. The API layer typically maps this to a 400/409. Slug uniqueness is enforced with a lookup before creation, so the transaction never starts in this case.

Source

Thrown at autogpt_platform/backend/backend/api/features/orgs/db.py:230

# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Org CRUD
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


async def create_org(
    name: str,
    slug: str,
    user_id: str,
    description: str | None = None,
) -> OrgResponse:
    """Create a team organization and make the user the owner.

    Raises:
        ValueError: If the slug is already taken by another org or alias.
    """
    existing_org = await prisma.organization.find_unique(where={"slug": slug})
    if existing_org:
        raise ValueError(f"Slug '{slug}' is already in use")
    existing_alias = await prisma.organizationalias.find_unique(
        where={"aliasSlug": slug}
    )
    if existing_alias:
        raise ValueError(f"Slug '{slug}' is already in use as an alias")

    # One transaction: a failure partway must not leave an org without its
    # default workspace, owner membership, profile, seat, or balance row.
    async with transaction() as tx:
        org = await tx.organization.create(
            data={
                "name": name,
                "slug": slug,
                "description": description,
                "isPersonal": False,
                "bootstrapUserId": user_id,
                "settings": "{}",
            }

View on GitHub (pinned to 9c8bb5550f)

Solutions

Choose a different, more specific slug (add a suffix like -hq or -inc)
If the slug belongs to an org you own, reuse that org instead of creating a new one
Handle the error in the client by prompting the user for a new slug

Example fix

# before
org = await create_org(name="Acme", slug="acme", user_id=uid)
# after
try:
    org = await create_org(name="Acme", slug="acme", user_id=uid)
except ValueError as e:
    if "already in use" in str(e):
        org = await create_org(name="Acme", slug="acme-2", user_id=uid)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

existing = await prisma.organization.find_unique(where={"slug": slug})
if existing:
    raise ValueError("slug taken — pick another before create")

Try / catch

try:
    org = await create_org(name=name, slug=slug, user_id=uid)
except ValueError as e:
    if "already in use" in str(e):
        slug = f"{slug}-{suffix()}"
        org = await create_org(name=name, slug=slug, user_id=uid)
    else:
        raise

Prevention

Pre-check slug availability in the UI as the user types
Auto-suffix on collision for machine-created orgs
Never assume a failed create left no state — verify before retrying

When it happens

Trigger: POST create organization with a slug identical to an existing org's slug (e.g. 'acme-team' when another org already uses it).

Common situations: Auto-generated slugs colliding for common company names; retrying a create that actually succeeded on the first attempt; two users claiming the same slug simultaneously.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of Significant-Gravitas/AutoGPT@9c8bb5550f (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a7eea55b226a803f. Report an issue: GitHub.