makeplane/plane · warning · DRFValidationError

empty_list_value

empty_list_value

Error message

List value for '{key}' must not be empty

What it means

Raised by _validate_leaf when a leaf field's value is a list or tuple of length zero. List values are allowed for filters like __in and __range, but an empty list would expand to a no-op or SQL `IN ()` which is invalid in most databases, so the backend rejects it before it reaches the ORM.

Source

Thrown at apps/api/plane/utils/filters/filter_backend.py:433

                {
                    "message": "Leaf filter must be a non-empty JSON object",
                    "code": "invalid_leaf",
                }
            )

        for key, value in leaf.items():
            if isinstance(key, str) and key.lower() in ("or", "and", "not"):
                raise DRFValidationError(
                    {
                        "message": "Logical operators cannot appear in a leaf filter object",
                        "code": "operator_in_leaf",
                    }
                )

            # Lists/Tuples must contain only scalar values
            if isinstance(value, (list, tuple)):
                if len(value) == 0:
                    raise DRFValidationError(
                        {
                            "message": f"List value for '{key}' must not be empty",
                            "code": "empty_list_value",
                        }
                    )
                for item in value:
                    if not self._is_scalar(item):
                        raise DRFValidationError(
                            {
                                "message": f"List value for '{key}' must contain only scalar items",
                                "code": "non_scalar_list_item",
                            }
                        )
                continue

            # Scalars and None are allowed
            if not self._is_scalar(value):
                raise DRFValidationError(

View on GitHub (pinned to 1c8a60f858)

Solutions

1. Drop the field key entirely when its list is empty — no filter is usually the intent.
2. On the client, filter out empty-list values before serializing: Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(f).filter(([,v]) => !(Array.isArray(v) && v.length === 0))).
3. If an empty IN is genuinely desired, replace it with an always-false condition explicitly rather than relying on empty-list semantics.

Example fix

// before
?filters={"state__in":[]}
// after
?filters={}  // omit the key, or send a non-empty list

def drop_empty_list_values(filter_data):
    if isinstance(filter_data, dict):
        return {k: (drop_empty_list_values(v) if isinstance(v, dict)
                    else [drop_empty_list_values(c) for c in v] if isinstance(v, list) else v)
                for k, v in filter_data.items()
                if not (isinstance(v, (list, tuple)) and len(v) == 0)}
    return filter_data

function noEmptyListValues(node) {
  if (typeof node !== 'object' || node === null) return true;
  if (Array.isArray(node)) return node.every(noEmptyListValues);
  return Object.entries(node).every(([k, v]) => !(Array.isArray(v) && v.length === 0))
    && Object.values(node).every(noEmptyListValues);
}

When it happens

Trigger: GET .../?filters={"state__in":[]} ; GET .../?filters={"sequence_id__range":[]} ; client sends an empty selection from a multi-select picker.

Common situations: UI multi-select that submits even when nothing is chosen; programmatic filter that always emits an `__in` key but leaves it empty; clearing a picker without removing the filter clause.

Related errors

• invalid_filter_node
• empty_filter_object
• multiple_logical_operators
• mixed_operator_and_fields
• invalid_operator_children

AI-assisted analysis of makeplane/plane@1c8a60f858 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5972c837dd696538. Report an issue: GitHub.