instructure/canvas-lms · error · ImportError

# (user # , login # )

Error message

#{user.errors.first.join(" ")} (user #{user_row.user_id}, login #{user_row.login_id})

What it means

SisImports::ImportError raised in SIS::UserImporter#process_batch when user.save fails ActiveRecord validation. The first validation error message is formatted with the row's sis user_id and login_id via generate_user_warning, then raised so the whole row is recorded as a batch error.

Solutions

1. Read the validation message embedded in the error (before the '(user X, login Y)' suffix) to see which attribute failed
2. Shorten or correct the offending CSV field (typically full_name/sortable_name) and re-run the import
3. Strip whitespace/control characters from name columns in the source data
4. If a validation was recently added/tightened, fix existing records or adjust the constraint

Example fix

// before (users.csv)
user_id,full_name
1001,<255+ character name string...>

// after
user_id,full_name
1001,Reasonably Short Name

if user.name.to_s.strip.length > 255
  raise 'full_name exceeds 255 chars'
end

begin
  importer.add_user(row)
rescue SisImports::ImportError => e
  if e.message =~ /^(.+) \(user (.+), login (.+)\)$/
    logger.warn("User validation failed for sis_id=#{$2}: #{$1}")
  else
    raise
  end
end

When it happens

Trigger: During process_batch (invoked from add_user), an existing or new User fails validation on save — e.g. name exceeding length limits, invalid characters in name fields, or any User model validation failure. The importer reads user.errors.first and aborts the row.

Common situations: CSV names longer than the users.name column limit (255 chars); names containing only whitespace or invalid characters after the importer's parsing; invalid email/other column data bleeding into user attributes; locale/config changes that tighten validations between imports.

Understand the failure class

Background: Schema validation failed / invalid input schema: payload rejected because its shape doesn't match the expected schema — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• A user did not pass validation
• # (user # , login # )
• An email did not pass validation
• An institutional tag category did not pass validation
• Cannot find # for ID: #

AI-assisted analysis of instructure/canvas-lms@1c9f0bb801 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0ba39a6363660ae5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at lib/sis/user_importer.rb:345

          pseudo.sis_ssha = user_row.ssha_password unless user_row.ssha_password.blank?
          pseudo.reset_persistence_token if pseudo.sis_ssha_changed? && pseudo.password_auto_generated
          user_touched = false

          user.sortable_name_explicitly_set = true if user_row.sortable_name.present?

          begin
            User.transaction(requires_new: true) do
              sticky_opts = user.sis_stickiness_options
              if user.changed? || (sticky_opts[:override_sis_stickiness] && sticky_opts[:clear_sis_stickiness] &&
                 user["stuck_sis_fields"].present?)
                user_touched = true
                user_changed = user.changed?
                user_saved = user.save
                # need to call save first so we can get the user id
                record_sync_for(user) if user_saved && user_changed
                if !user_saved && !user.errors.empty?
                  message = generate_user_warning(user.errors.first.join(" "), user_row.user_id, user_row.login_id)
                  raise ImportError, message
                end
              elsif @batch
                @users_to_set_sis_batch_ids << user.id
              end
              pseudo.user_id = user.id
              if pseudo.changed?
                pseudo.sis_batch_id = @batch.id if @batch
                if pseudo.save_without_broadcasting
                  record_sync_for(user)
                  p_data = SisBatchRollBackData.build_data(sis_batch: @batch, context: pseudo)
                  @roll_back_data << p_data if p_data
                elsif !pseudo.errors.empty?
                  message = generate_user_warning(pseudo.errors.first.full_message, user_row.user_id, user_row.login_id)
                  raise ImportError, message
                end
              end
            end
          rescue ImportError

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