What causes "This value is required" in flarum/framework?

Supply a value when the prompt appears (blank input is not accepted for required fields)

flarum/framework · warning · ValidationFailed

This value is required

Error message

This value is required

What it means

In the console installer's UserDataProvider, the ask() helper attaches a validator to required Symfony Question prompts. If the user submits an empty value (just pressing Enter) for a required question, ValidationFailed('This value is required') is thrown and the question is re-asked by the Symfony Console helper loop.

Solutions

Supply a value when the prompt appears (blank input is not accepted for required fields)
Provide all required values in the piped/stdin answer list for automation
Make the question optional by passing a $default and required=false where a sensible default exists

Example fix

// non-interactive run missing a value
// before
php flarum install < answers.txt  # missing baseUrl line
// after
echo "https://forum.example.com\n..." | php flarum install  # include every required answer

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if (trim((string) $value) === '') {
    throw new ValidationFailed('This value is required');
}

Try / catch

$question->setValidator(function ($value) {
    if (empty($value)) { throw new ValidationFailed('This value is required'); }
    return $value;
});
try {
    $answer = $helper->ask($input, $output, $question);
} catch (ValidationFailed $e) { /* helper re-prompts automatically */ }

Prevention

Provide every required answer when piping stdin for automated installs
Set sensible $default values so pressing Enter is valid where possible
Test headless install flows against the full interactive prompt sequence

When it happens

Trigger: Pressing Enter without typing anything at a required prompt during getDatabaseConfiguration, getBaseUrl, getAdminUser, or getSettings; input piped from a file/stdin that ends before the required answer is supplied.

Common situations: Automated installs piping an incomplete answers stream into the interactive installer; users assuming defaults exist for required fields.

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 flarum/framework@4b939f6853 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cac6f72278e01ae1. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at framework/core/src/Install/Console/UserDataProvider.php:141

    private function getSettings(): array
    {
        $title = $this->ask('Forum title:');

        return [
            'forum_title' => $title,
            'mail_from' => $this->baseUrl->toEmail('noreply'),
            'welcome_title' => 'Welcome to '.$title,
        ];
    }

    private function ask(string $question, ?string $default = null, bool $required = false): mixed
    {
        $question = new Question("<question>$question</question> ", $default);

        if ($required) {
            $question->setValidator(function ($value) {
                if (empty($value)) {
                    throw new ValidationFailed('This value is required');
                }

                return $value;
            });
        }

        return $this->questionHelper->ask($this->input, $this->output, $question);
    }

    private function secret(string $question): mixed
    {
        $question = new Question("<question>$question</question> ");

        $question->setHidden(true)->setHiddenFallback(true);

        return $this->questionHelper->ask($this->input, $this->output, $question);
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 4b939f6853)