The record cannot be updated because no record has been pass

Error message

The record cannot be updated because no record has been passed

What it means

useUpdateController's handleUpdate callback requires the current record to know the record id to update. When record is undefined, the update has no target id, so it throws synchronously. As with useDeleteController, this indicates the component was rendered without record context or before data arrived.

Source

Thrown at packages/ra-core/src/controller/button/useUpdateController.tsx:125

                        type: 'error',
                        messageArgs: {
                            _:
                                typeof error === 'string'
                                    ? error
                                    : (error as Error)?.message,
                        },
                    }
                );
            },
            mutationMode,
            ...otherMutationOptions,
        }
    );

    const handleUpdate = useCallback(
        (data: Partial<RecordType>) => {
            if (!record) {
                throw new Error(
                    'The record cannot be updated because no record has been passed'
                );
            }
            updateOne(resource, {
                id: record.id,
                data,
                previousData: record,
                meta: mutationMeta,
            });
        },
        [updateOne, mutationMeta, record, resource]
    );

    return useMemo(
        () => ({
            isPending,
            isLoading: isPending,
            handleUpdate,

View on GitHub (pinned to 051f511bb0)

Solutions

Pass record explicitly or render inside RecordContext: <UpdateButton record={record} />
Guard rendering until the record is loaded (isLoading from useGetOne or Edit's isPending)
When using useUpdateController directly, supply a record prop

Example fix

// before
const MyForm = () => {
    const { handleUpdate } = useUpdateController();
    return <SaveButton onClick={() => handleUpdate(values)} />;
};
// after
const MyForm = props => {
    const record = useRecordContext();
    const { handleUpdate } = useUpdateController({ ...props, record });
    if (!record) return null;
    return <SaveButton onClick={() => handleUpdate(values)} />;
};

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const record = useRecordContext();
const canUpdate = Boolean(record && record.id != null);
{canUpdate && <SaveButton />  /* handleUpdate only reachable when record exists */}

Type guard

const hasRecord = (r: unknown): r is { id: unknown } =>
    r != null && typeof r === 'object' && 'id' in r;

Try / catch

try {
    handleUpdate(values);
} catch (e) {
    if (e instanceof Error && e.message.includes('no record has been passed')) {
        notify('Cannot save: record not loaded yet', { type: 'warning' });
        return;
    }
    throw e;
}

Prevention

Render update UI only inside a record context (Edit page or RecordContext)
Gate the save button on record presence/isLoading
Supply a record prop when using useUpdateController in custom components
Wrap custom forms in tests with RecordContext and a fixture record

When it happens

Trigger: Clicking a <SaveButton>/<UpdateButton> in a form rendered outside RecordContext so props.record is undefined; calling useUpdateController directly without a record; the update button becoming clickable while record is still undefined.

Common situations: Custom forms placed outside Edit's record context; page-level buttons without record prop; optimistic UI rendering before the record query resolves.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of marmelab/react-admin@051f511bb0 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/02c7a964d4159a3f. Report an issue: GitHub.