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

group not found

Error message

group not found

What it means

In CreateLearningOutcome, the private helper learning_outcome_group looks up LearningOutcomeGroup.active.find_by(id: input[:group_id]) and raises GraphQL::ExecutionError 'group not found' when no active group matches. 'Active' means not soft-deleted (workflow_state not deleted), so soft-deleted groups also produce this error even though the row exists.

Solutions

1. Verify the group_id refers to an existing, non-deleted LearningOutcomeGroup (check workflow_state = 'active').
2. Re-fetch the group via the GraphQL query before mutating, and use the fresh ID.
3. Confirm you are calling on the same shard/root account where the group lives.
4. Ensure the client sends the group_id argument (required by this mutation's flow) and it parses as a valid ID.

Example fix

// before
createLearningOutcome(input: { title, groupOfId: staleId })
// after
const group = await fetchGroupById(staleId) // verify active
const id = group?.workflowState === 'active' ? group._id : await createOrPickGroup()
createLearningOutcome(input: { title, groupId: id })

const group = await gql(GET_OUTCOME_GROUP, { id: groupId })
if (!group || group.workflowState !== 'active') throw new Error(`outcome group ${groupId} not found/deleted`)

function isActiveGroup(g) { return g != null && g.workflowState === 'active' && typeof g._id === 'string' }

try {
  await gql(CREATE_OUTCOME, { input })
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message === 'group not found') await reselectGroupAndRetry()
  else throw e
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling createLearningOutcome with group_id that is: nil/omitted, a malformed ID, an ID from another shard/root account, or the ID of a soft-deleted LearningOutcomeGroup.

Common situations: Client caches a group ID that was later deleted; copying group IDs between test and production Canvas; forgetting that global outcome groups vs context groups have different ID spaces; passing a string instead of an ID type is coerced to nil.

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

• Group not found
• not found
• not found
• not found
• not found

AI-assisted analysis of instructure/canvas-lms@1c9f0bb801 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e52573406bc5e6e3. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at app/graphql/mutations/create_learning_outcome.rb:44

  def resolve(input:)
    outcome_group = learning_outcome_group(input)

    outcome_input = attrs(input, outcome_group)

    record = LearningOutcome.new(context: outcome_group.context, **outcome_input)
    record.saving_user = current_user
    check_permission(record)
    return errors_for(record) unless record.save

    outcome_group.add_outcome(record)
    { learning_outcome: record }
  end

  private

  def learning_outcome_group(input)
    LearningOutcomeGroup.active.find_by(id: input[:group_id]).tap do |group|
      raise GraphQL::ExecutionError, I18n.t("group not found") if group.nil?
    end
  end

  def check_permission(outcome)
    raise GraphQL::ExecutionError, I18n.t("insufficient permission") unless outcome.grants_right? current_user, :create
  end
end

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