laravel/framework · error · InvalidArgumentException

You requested items, but there are only items available.

Error message

You requested {$requested} items, but there are only {$count} items available.

What it means

Thrown by Arr::random() when $number (items requested) exceeds count($array). The check runs before any short-circuit for empty arrays, so even requesting 1 from an empty array triggers it.

Solutions

1. Clamp $number to the array size: $n = min($n, count($array)).
2. Guard for emptiness: if (empty($array)) return []; before calling.
3. Validate the requested count against count($array) upstream.

Example fix

// before
$pick = Arr::random($rows, 3); // throws if < 3 rows
// after
$n = min(3, count($rows));
$pick = $n > 0 ? Arr::random($rows, $n) : [];

$count = count($array);
if ($count === 0) {
    $pick = [];
} else {
    $n = min($requested, $count);
    $pick = Arr::random($array, $n);
}

// no type guard; runtime count check
function safeRandomCount(int $requested, int $available): int {
    return max(0, min($requested, $available));
}

try {
    $pick = Arr::random($rows, 3);
} catch (\InvalidArgumentException $e) {
    $pick = [];
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Arr::random([], 1), Arr::random([1,2], 5), or passing a dynamic $number larger than the data set.

Common situations: Randomizing from a possibly-empty query result; user-supplied count parameter; off-by-one when source array was filtered down.

Related errors

• Array value for key [ ] must be a boolean, found.
• Array value for key [ ] must be a float, found.
• Array value for key [ ] must be a string, found.
• Array value for key [ ] must be an array, found.
• Array value for key [ ] must be an integer, found.

AI-assisted analysis of laravel/framework@e0f6eb3518 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/494348803db5fd08. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Illuminate/Collections/Arr.php:978

    /**
     * Get one or a specified number of random values from an array.
     *
     * @param  array  $array
     * @param  int|null  $number
     * @param  bool  $preserveKeys
     * @return ($number is null ? mixed : array)
     *
     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
     */
    public static function random($array, $number = null, $preserveKeys = false)
    {
        $requested = is_null($number) ? 1 : $number;

        $count = count($array);

        if ($requested > $count) {
            throw new InvalidArgumentException(
                "You requested {$requested} items, but there are only {$count} items available."
            );
        }

        if (empty($array) || (! is_null($number) && $number <= 0)) {
            return is_null($number) ? null : [];
        }

        $keys = (new Randomizer)->pickArrayKeys($array, $requested);

        if (is_null($number)) {
            return $array[$keys[0]];
        }

        $results = [];

        if ($preserveKeys) {
            foreach ($keys as $key) {

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