instructure/canvas-lms · error · ImportError

Can't observe yourself user #

Error message

Can't observe yourself user #{student_id}

What it means

Business-rule guard in UserObserverImporter::Work#process_user_observer raised when observer_id and student_id resolve to the same user: a user cannot observe themself. The row is rejected as semantically invalid rather than for a missing field.

Solutions

1. Use distinct observer and student ids on the row
2. Remove the self-observation row and re-import

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/sis/user_observer_importer.rb:59 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of instructure/canvas-lms@1c9f0bb801 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/68ffe416cf8780d3. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at lib/sis/user_observer_importer.rb:59

    class Work
      attr_accessor :success_count,
                    :users_to_update_account_associations,
                    :user_observers_to_update_sis_batch_ids

      def initialize(batch, root_account, logger)
        @batch = batch
        @root_account = root_account
        @logger = logger
        @success_count = 0

        @users_to_update_account_associations = Set.new
        @user_observers_to_update_sis_batch_ids = []
      end

      def process_user_observer(observer_id, student_id, status)
        raise ImportError, "No observer_id given for a user observer" if observer_id.blank?
        raise ImportError, "No user_id given for a user observer" if student_id.blank?
        raise ImportError, "Can't observe yourself user #{student_id}" if student_id == observer_id
        raise ImportError, "Improper status \"#{status}\" for a user_observer" unless /\A(active|deleted)\z/i.match?(status)
        return if @batch.skip_deletes? && status =~ /deleted/i

        o_pseudo = @root_account.pseudonyms.active.find_by(sis_user_id: observer_id)
        raise ImportError, "An observer referenced a non-existent user #{observer_id}" unless o_pseudo

        s_pseudo = @root_account.pseudonyms.active.find_by(sis_user_id: student_id)
        raise ImportError, "A student referenced a non-existent user #{student_id}" unless s_pseudo

        observer = o_pseudo.user
        student = s_pseudo.user
        raise ImportError, "Can't observe yourself user #{student_id}" if observer == student

        add_remove_observer(observer, student, observer_id, student_id, status)
      end

      def add_remove_observer(observer, student, observer_id, student_id, status)
        case status.downcase

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