instructure/canvas-lms · error · GraphQL::ExecutionError

Assignments under moderation cannot be hidden by section…

Error message

Assignments under moderation cannot be hidden by section before grades are published

What it means

Section-based hiding is forbidden on assignments still under moderated grading whose grades have not been published (grades_published? false), mirroring the general mutation but with a section-specific message. Provisional grades must be finalized before any section-scoped posting/hide operation.

Solutions

1. Have a moderator publish grades for the assignment first (grades_published!), then retry the section hide.
2. Check grades_published_at / gradesPublished via GraphQL before calling and block the action in the UI.
3. If moderated grading is unnecessary, disable it before grading begins.
4. Coordinate with the moderation workflow (moderation setters) rather than bypassing with direct DB updates.

Example fix

// before
await HideBySection.mutate({ assignmentId, sectionIds });
// after
const a = await fetchAssignment(assignmentId);
if (a.moderatedGrading && !a.gradesPublished) {
  notifyModerator(assignmentId);
  return; // wait for publish
}
await HideBySection.mutate({ assignmentId, sectionIds });

const a = await fetchAssignment(assignmentId);
if (a.moderatedGrading && !a.gradesPublished) throw new SkipError('Grades not published yet');

const sectionHideAllowed = (a) => Boolean(a && a.gradesPublished === true);

try { await hideBySection({ assignmentId, sectionIds }); }
catch (e) {
  if (String(e).includes('grades are published')) { await notifyModerator(assignmentId); return; }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling hideAssignmentGradesForSections for an assignment with moderated_grading enabled before the moderator publishes final grades.

Common situations: Departmental workflows where different sections are moderated independently and a teacher assumes their section is done; scheduled scripts hiding grades by section after term end without checking publication state.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid state transition" errors: "status must be X, actually Y", "already rejected/charging/uninstalled", "cannot ... while running" — what they mean when a library rejects your call — this error's family across 31 libraries.

Related errors

• Assignments under moderation cannot be hidden before grades…
• Moderated assignments must be manually posted until grades…
• and cannot be used together
• A course with that id does not exist
• Anonymous assignments cannot be hidden by section

AI-assisted analysis of instructure/canvas-lms@1c9f0bb801 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/326e2907c64be349. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at app/graphql/mutations/hide_assignment_grades_for_sections.rb:43

  argument :section_ids, [ID], required: true, prepare: GraphQLHelpers.relay_or_legacy_ids_prepare_func("Section")

  field :assignment, Types::AssignmentType, null: true
  field :progress, Types::ProgressType, null: true
  field :sections, [Types::SectionType], null: true

  def resolve(input:)
    begin
      assignment = AbstractAssignment.find_assignment_or_peer_review(input[:assignment_id])
      course = assignment.context
      sections = course.course_sections.where(id: input[:section_ids])
    rescue ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound
      raise GraphQL::ExecutionError, "not found"
    end

    verify_authorized_action!(assignment, :grade)

    unless assignment.grades_published?
      raise GraphQL::ExecutionError, "Assignments under moderation cannot be hidden by section before grades are published"
    end
    raise GraphQL::ExecutionError, "Anonymous assignments cannot be hidden by section" if assignment.anonymize_students?

    if sections.empty? || sections.count != input[:section_ids].size
      raise GraphQL::ExecutionError, "Invalid section ids"
    end

    visible_enrollments = course.apply_enrollment_visibility(course.student_enrollments, current_user, sections)

    submissions_scope = input[:graded_only] ? assignment.submissions.graded : assignment.submissions
    submissions_scope = submissions_scope.joins(user: :enrollments).merge(visible_enrollments)

    progress = course.progresses.new(tag: "hide_assignment_grades_for_sections")

    if progress.save
      progress.process_job(
        assignment,
        :hide_submissions,

View on GitHub (pinned to 1c9f0bb801)