block/buzz · error · Error

Choose a project.

Error message

Choose a project.

What it means

The ProjectsCategoryCreateDialogs channel-creation flow throws this error to enforce an internal invariant: the dialog's create-channel callback should only be reachable when a project (`channelProject`) has already been selected for the channel. The surrounding UI text says 'Choose a project for this channel', and `onCreate` refuses to run the mutation when `channelProject` is null. Hitting this means the code path invoked without the project being resolved — the guard is a defensive assertion, not an expected user-facing error.

Source

Thrown at desktop/src/features/projects/ui/ProjectsCategoryCreateDialogs.tsx:57

          channel.isMember &&
          !channel.archivedAt &&
          channel.channelType !== "dm",
      ),
    [channelsQuery.data],
  );

  return (
    <>
      <CreateChannelDialog
        channelKind={channelOpen ? "stream" : null}
        description={
          channelProject
            ? `Add another stream to ${channelProject.name}.`
            : "Choose a project for this channel."
        }
        isCreating={createChannelMutation.isPending}
        onCreate={async (input) => {
          if (!channelProject) throw new Error("Choose a project.");
          const result = await createChannelMutation.mutateAsync({
            ...input,
            ownerControlAgentPubkey: ownerControlAgentPubkeyFor(channelProject),
            project: channelProject,
          });
          toast.success(`Channel "#${result.channel.name}" created.`);
          await goChannel(result.channel.id);
        }}
        onOpenChange={onChannelOpenChange}
        testId="create-project-channel-dialog"
        title="Create a project channel"
      >
        <label className="block space-y-1.5 text-sm font-medium">
          <span>Project</span>
          <select
            className="h-10 w-full rounded-lg border border-input bg-background px-3 text-sm font-normal outline-hidden focus:ring-1 focus:ring-ring"
            data-testid="create-project-channel-project"
            disabled={createChannelMutation.isPending}

View on GitHub (pinned to eed74bde2f)

Solutions

1. Select a project in the dialog's project picker before submitting the create-channel form.
2. Disable the submit button when `!channelProject` so the handler can never run without a project.
3. If `channelProject` should be derived automatically, verify the query/hook that sets it actually resolved and did not fail.
4. In tests, seed the project selection state before invoking onCreate.

Example fix

// before
onCreate={async (input) => {
  if (!channelProject) throw new Error("Choose a project.");
  ...
}}
// after — prevent submission instead of throwing
<button
  disabled={!channelProject || createChannelMutation.isPending}
  onClick={() => formRef.current?.requestSubmit()}
/>
onCreate={async (input) => {
  if (!channelProject) return; // unreachable when button is disabled
  ...
}}

if (!channelProject) {
  toast.error("Select a project before creating the channel.");
  return;
}
await createChannelMutation.mutateAsync({ ...input, project: channelProject });

const hasProject = (p: unknown): p is { id: string; name: string } =>
  typeof p === "object" && p !== null && "id" in p && "name" in p;

try {
  await createChannelMutation.mutateAsync({ ...input, project: channelProject! });
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message === "Choose a project.") {
    toast.error("Select a project first.");
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the dialog's `onCreate` handler while `channelProject` is null/undefined: the user (or a test/e2e harness) submits the create-channel form before a project is selected, or the project lookup that sets `channelProject` failed silently while the submit action remained enabled.

Common situations: UI state where the 'create channel' button is clickable before a project picker selection; a race where the project query has not resolved but the form is submitted; automated tests invoking onCreate without first choosing a project; channel project fetch failing (e.g. relay unreachable) leaving channelProject null.

Related errors

• Choose a channel first.
• plugin.json unknown key "{key}"
• plugin.json defaults: unknown key "{key}"
• plugin.json defaults.triggers: unknown key "{key}"
• skill {label}: name "{name_str}" differs from directory name

AI-assisted analysis of block/buzz@eed74bde2f (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6ff12147b6c45f42. Report an issue: GitHub.