instructure/canvas-lms · error · ImportError

An old_integration_id, '#

Error message

An old_integration_id, '#{data_change.old_integration_id}', referenced a non-existent #{type} and was not changed.

What it means

find_item_to_update raises this when old_id is blank, old_integration_id is present, and no record matches scope.find_by(integration_id => old_integration_id). The record identified only by its integration_id does not exist in the root-account scope, so no re-keying is possible.

Solutions

Verify the integration_id exists: scope.where(integration_id: old_integration_id).exists?.
Fall back to identifying the record via old_id instead.
Refresh the export so the integration_id matches Canvas's current data.

Example fix

// before: integration_id not in Canvas
user,,new-id,INT-404
// after: use the id Canvas actually has
user,U-100,new-id

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if dc.old_id.blank? && dc.old_integration_id.present?
  unless scope_for(dc.type).where(integration_id: dc.old_integration_id).exists?
    raise ArgumentError, "unknown integration_id #{dc.old_integration_id}"
  end
end
process_change_sis_id(dc)

Try / catch

begin
  process_change_sis_id(dc)
rescue SIS::ImportError => e
  if e.message.include?('old_integration_id')
    logger.warn("unknown integration_id=#{dc.old_integration_id}: skipped")
  end
end

Prevention

Confirm Canvas actually stores the external system's id as integration_id for that type.
Prefer old_id lookups; integration_id lookups are fragile to reassignment.
Validate integration_ids against the current DB before generating change rows.

When it happens

Trigger: change_sis_id row relying solely on old_integration_id where no row of the type has that integration_id — record deleted, integration_id already changed/cleared, or wrong account.

Common situations: External SIS sends its own ids assuming Canvas stored them as integration_id, stale exports after integration_id reassignment, or type mismatch (integration_id looked up in the wrong scope for the declared type).

Understand the failure class

Background: Record Not Found Errors: "not found", RecordNotFound, and "was not found" — what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of instructure/canvas-lms@1c9f0bb801 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/716736c2557cfc02. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at lib/sis/change_sis_id_importer.rb:152

      def find_item_to_update(column, details, type, data_change)
        if data_change.old_id.present?
          old_item = details[:scope].find_by(column => data_change.old_id)
        end
        if data_change.old_integration_id.present?
          old_int_item = details[:scope].find_by(integration_id: data_change.old_integration_id)
        end
        if data_change.old_id.present? && data_change.old_integration_id.present?
          raise ImportError, "An old_id, '#{data_change.old_id}', referenced a different #{type} than the old_integration_id, '#{data_change.old_integration_id}'" unless old_item == old_int_item

          return old_item
        end
        if data_change.old_id.present? && data_change.old_integration_id.blank?
          raise ImportError, "An old_id, '#{data_change.old_id}', referenced a non-existent #{type} and was not changed." unless old_item

          return old_item
        end
        if data_change.old_id.blank? && data_change.old_integration_id.present?
          raise ImportError, "An old_integration_id, '#{data_change.old_integration_id}', referenced a non-existent #{type} and was not changed." unless old_int_item

          old_int_item
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

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