instructure/canvas-lms · error · DataFormatError

The file is empty or does not contain valid rubric data.

Error message

The file is empty or does not contain valid rubric data.

What it means

RubricImport#process_rubrics raises DataFormatError when RubricCSVImporter.parse returns an empty hash — the uploaded rubric CSV contained no importable rows (empty file, headers only, or content the importer could not map).

Solutions

1. Use the provided rubric CSV template and keep the exact header names ('Rubric Name', criteria, ratings columns)
2. Re-save the spreadsheet as comma-separated CSV (UTF-8) and confirm rows exist below the header
3. Ensure the uploaded file is the rubric CSV, not the assessment CSV or another export
4. Open the CSV in a text editor to verify it has data rows and correct comma delimiters

Example fix

// before
# file contains only: Rubric Name,Criteria,Ratings
// after
Rubric Name,Criteria,Ratings
Essay Rubric,Quality,"Great:10,Good:7"
Essay Rubric,Accuracy,"Perfect:10,Fair:5"

csv = CSV.read(uploaded_path, headers: true)
raise "no rubric rows" if csv.empty?
raise "missing 'Rubric Name' column" unless csv.headers.include?("Rubric Name")

begin
  import.process
rescue DataFormatError => e
  flash[:error] = e.message
end

When it happens

Trigger: Uploading an empty file, a headers-only CSV, a wrongly formatted rubric CSV (unexpected columns so nothing parses), or the wrong file entirely (e.g. the assessments CSV instead of the rubric CSV).

Common situations: Spreadsheet export of the wrong sheet; CSV saved with wrong delimiter or encoding; template columns renamed; uploading a blank template without filling it in; file uploaded as .csv but actually xlsx content.

Understand the failure class

Background: EmptyResultError / "no results found": when an API or scraper succeeds but returns zero rows — this error's family across 9 libraries.

Related errors

• Missing 'Rubric Name' in some rows.
• The file is empty or does not contain valid assessment data.
• Friendly description is too long (maximum is 255 characters)
• Invalid fields after ratings
• Invalid fields

AI-assisted analysis of instructure/canvas-lms@1c9f0bb801 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/216904932115529a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at app/models/rubric_import.rb:104

      ErrorReport.log_exception("rubrics_import_data_format", e)
      update!(error_count: 1, error_data: [{ message: e.message }])
      track_error
      job_failed!
    rescue CSV::MalformedCSVError => e
      ErrorReport.log_exception("rubrics_import_csv", e)
      update!(error_count: 1, error_data: [{ message: I18n.t("The file is not a valid CSV file."), exception: e.message }])
      track_error
    rescue => e
      ErrorReport.log_exception("rubrics_import", e)
      update!(error_count: 1, error_data: [{ message: I18n.t("An error occurred while importing rubrics."), exception: e.message }])
      track_error
      job_failed!
    end
  end

  def process_rubrics
    rubrics_by_name = RubricCSVImporter.new(attachment).parse
    raise DataFormatError, I18n.t("The file is empty or does not contain valid rubric data.") if rubrics_by_name.empty?

    total_rubrics = rubrics_by_name.keys.count
    error_data = []

    rubrics_by_name.each_with_index do |(rubric_name, rubric_data), rubric_index|
      raise DataFormatError, I18n.t("Missing 'Rubric Name' in some rows.") if rubric_name.blank?

      rubric = context.rubrics.build(rubric_imports_id: id)
      criteria_hash = {}
      rubric_data.each_with_index do |criterion, criterion_index|
        raise DataFormatError, "Missing 'Criteria Name' for #{rubric_name}" if criterion[:description].blank?
        raise DataFormatError, "Missing ratings for #{criterion[:description]}" if criterion[:ratings].empty?

        ratings_hash = {}
        criterion[:ratings].each_with_index do |rating, rating_index|
          ratings_hash[rating_index.to_s] = {
            "description" => rating[:description],
            "long_description" => rating[:long_description],

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