faker-ruby/faker · error · ArgumentError

Valid credit cards argument can be left blank or include #{v

Error message

Valid credit cards argument can be left blank or include #{valid_cards.join(', ')}

What it means

Raised by Faker::Stripe.valid_card when card_type is not a key under faker.stripe.valid_cards in the loaded locale (e.g. :visa, :visa_debit, :mastercard, :mc_debit, :amex... depending on locale data). The value is symified before the check, so both 'visa' and :visa work, but unknown strings like 'visa_credit' raise ArgumentError listing the accepted card types.

Source

Thrown at lib/faker/default/stripe.rb:24

      ##
      # Produces a random valid card number.
      #
      # @param card_type [String] Specific valid card type.
      # @return [String]
      #
      # @example
      #   Faker::Stripe.valid_card #=> "4242424242424242"
      #   Faker::Stripe.valid_card(card_type: "visa_debit") #=> "4000056655665556"
      #
      # @faker.version 1.9.0
      def valid_card(card_type: nil)
        valid_cards = translate('faker.stripe.valid_cards').keys

        if card_type.nil?
          card_type = sample(valid_cards).to_s
        else
          unless valid_cards.include?(card_type.to_sym)
            raise ArgumentError,
                  "Valid credit cards argument can be left blank or include #{valid_cards.join(', ')}"
          end
        end

        fetch("stripe.valid_cards.#{card_type}")
      end

      ##
      # Produces a random valid Stripe token.
      #
      # @param card_type [String] Specific valid card type.
      # @return [String]
      #
      # @example
      #   Faker::Stripe.valid_token #=> "tok_visa"
      #   Faker::Stripe.valid_token(card_type: "mc_debit") #=> "tok_mastercard_debit"
      #
      # @faker.version 1.9.0

View on GitHub (pinned to cca4184947)

Solutions

Omit card_type to get a random valid card.
Use one of the types listed in the error message, e.g. card_type: 'visa_debit' (string or symbol, lowercase).
Check the accepted keys from your locale file (en.yml under stripe: valid_cards:) or rescue ArgumentError and sample the keys via I18n to stay robust across versions.

Example fix

# before
Faker::Stripe.valid_card(card_type: 'visa_credit') # ArgumentError

# after
Faker::Stripe.valid_card(card_type: 'visa_debit')
# or: Faker::Stripe.valid_card

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

valid_types = I18n.translate('faker.stripe.valid_cards').keys.map(&:to_s)
card_type = nil unless card_type.nil? || valid_types.include?(card_type.to_s)
Faker::Stripe.valid_card(card_type: card_type)

Type guard

def known_stripe_card_type?(card_type)
  I18n.translate('faker.stripe.valid_cards').key?(card_type.to_s.to_sym)
end

Try / catch

begin
  Faker::Stripe.valid_card(card_type: card_type)
rescue ArgumentError
  Faker::Stripe.valid_card # random card type
end

Prevention

Derive accepted card types from the locale keys instead of Stripe docs.
card_type keys can differ between valid_cards, valid_tokens, and invalid_cards sections.
Strings and symbols both work; casing must match the locale key.

When it happens

Trigger: Faker::Stripe.valid_card(card_type: 'visa_credit') or any key not present in the en.yml stripe.valid_cards section raises; valid_card() with no argument samples a random type and never raises.

Common situations: Hardcoding card names from Stripe's documentation that differ from the gem's locale keys (e.g. 'visa' vs 'visa_credit'); locale files that define fewer valid_cards keys than expected; tests looping over a card list copied from another gem version.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of faker-ruby/faker@cca4184947 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/643e2fba8343ca8c. Report an issue: GitHub.