block/buzz · error

timeout requires target_pubkey

Error message

timeout requires target_pubkey

What it means

The 'timeout' arm of `run_atomic_mutation` requires `ctx.target_pubkey` to be `Some`. A timeout enforcement action without a target user cannot be executed, so the driver aborts the atomic transaction with this error, mirroring the equivalent ban-arm guard.

Source

Thrown at crates/buzz-relay/src/handlers/report_resolution.rs:704

                .target_pubkey
                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("ban requires target_pubkey"))?;
            state
                .db
                .execute_ban_with_marker(
                    action_id,
                    lease_token,
                    ctx.community_id,
                    target,
                    ctx.actor_pubkey,
                    ctx.reason,
                )
                .await
                .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("ban failed: {e}"))
        }
        "timeout" => {
            let target = ctx
                .target_pubkey
                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("timeout requires target_pubkey"))?;
            let until = ctx
                .timeout_until
                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("timeout requires timeout_until"))?;
            state
                .db
                .execute_timeout_with_marker(
                    action_id,
                    lease_token,
                    ctx.community_id,
                    target,
                    ctx.actor_pubkey,
                    until,
                    ctx.reason,
                )
                .await
                .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("timeout failed: {e}"))
        }
        "kick" => {

View on GitHub (pinned to eed74bde2f)

Solutions

  1. Ensure the timeout action producer always sets target_pubkey when enqueuing the action.
  2. Find and fix any 'timeout' action rows with NULL target_pubkey in the actions table.
  3. Add insert-time validation or a NOT NULL constraint for timeout targets.
  4. Confirm the ActionCtx loader populates target_pubkey from the correct column.

Example fix

// before
actions::insert(Action { kind: "timeout", timeout_until: Some(until), .. })?;
// after
actions::insert(Action {
  kind: "timeout",
  target_pubkey: Some(reported_pubkey),
  timeout_until: Some(until),
  ..
})?;
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

pub fn enqueue_timeout(target: [u8; 32], until: chrono::DateTime<chrono::Utc>, reason: String) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
  anyhow::ensure!(until > chrono::Utc::now(), "timeout expiry must be in the future");
  actions::insert(Action { kind: "timeout", target_pubkey: Some(target), timeout_until: Some(until), reason, ..Default::default() })?;
  Ok(())
}

Type guard

fn timeout_target(ctx: &ActionCtx) -> Option<&[u8; 32]> {
    ctx.target_pubkey.as_ref().and_then(|b| b.try_into().ok())
}

Try / catch

match run_atomic_mutation(&state, ctx).await {
  Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("timeout requires target_pubkey") => {
    tracing::error!(action_id = %action_id, "malformed timeout action: dropping");
    mark_action_failed(action_id, "missing target_pubkey").await?;
  }
  Err(e) => return Err(e),
  Ok(v) => Ok(v),
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: A timeout action row was enqueued or loaded with `target_pubkey: None` — the producer of the action (report decision handler) failed to record which user to timeout, or the DB column is NULL when the driver leases the action.

Common situations: Timeout decided from a report whose target user record was deleted between decision and enforcement; manually inserted action rows during testing; schema mismatch where the ctx loader reads the wrong column for the timeout target.

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of block/buzz@eed74bde2f (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9e022a370bed51e1. Report an issue: GitHub.