medusajs/medusa · error · MedusaError

application_method.allocation should be one of ${allAllocati

Error message

application_method.allocation should be one of ${allAllocationTypes.join(", ")}

What it means

If application_method.allocation is provided, it must be one of the ApplicationMethodAllocation enum values (each, across, once per version). Any other string throws INVALID_DATA.

Source

Thrown at packages/modules/promotion/src/utils/validations/application-method.ts:143

    allowedAllocationTargetTypes.includes(targetType) &&
    !allowedAllocationTypes.includes(allocation || "")
  ) {
    throw new MedusaError(
      MedusaError.Types.INVALID_DATA,
      `application_method.allocation should be either '${allowedAllocationTypes.join(
        " OR "
      )}' when application_method.target_type is either '${allowedAllocationTargetTypes.join(
        " OR "
      )}'`
    )
  }

  const allAllocationTypes: string[] = Object.values(
    ApplicationMethodAllocation
  )

  if (allocation && !allAllocationTypes.includes(allocation)) {
    throw new MedusaError(
      MedusaError.Types.INVALID_DATA,
      `application_method.allocation should be one of ${allAllocationTypes.join(
        ", "
      )}`
    )
  }

  if (
    allocation &&
    allowedAllocationForQuantity.includes(allocation) &&
    !isDefined(maxQuantity)
  ) {
    throw new MedusaError(
      MedusaError.Types.INVALID_DATA,
      `application_method.max_quantity is required when application_method.allocation is '${allowedAllocationForQuantity.join(
        " OR "
      )}'`
    )

View on GitHub (pinned to 5e06e544a2)

Solutions

Use the enum constant: ApplicationMethodAllocation.EACH / ACROSS / ONCE
Import the enum from @medusajs/utils instead of hardcoding strings
Trim/normalize imported values and validate against the enum before submission

Example fix

// before
application_method: { allocation: "per_item", ... }

// after
import { ApplicationMethodAllocation } from "@medusajs/utils"
application_method: { allocation: ApplicationMethodAllocation.EACH, ... }

Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

const allAllocationTypes = Object.values(ApplicationMethodAllocation)
if (allocation && !allAllocationTypes.includes(allocation)) throw new Error(`invalid allocation: ${allocation}`)

Type guard

import { ApplicationMethodAllocation } from "@medusajs/utils"
const isValidAllocation = (a: string): a is ApplicationMethodAllocation =>
  (Object.values(ApplicationMethodAllocation) as string[]).includes(a)

Try / catch

try { await updatePromotions(...) } catch (e) { if (e.type === MedusaError.Types.INVALID_DATA && /allocation should be one of/.test(e.message)) { /* normalize allocation to enum and retry */ } throw e }

Prevention

Use exported enum constants
Normalize/trim imported allocation strings
Avoid free-text allocation inputs

When it happens

Trigger: Passing allocation 'per_item', 'EVERY', 'all', or a typo like 'across ' with trailing whitespace.

Common situations: Hardcoded strings from older Medusa versions, free-text allocation inputs, data imports with unnormalized values.

Understand the failure class

Background: Invalid enum value errors: "Unknown type", "Invalid scope", "must be one of" — when a string is not on the library's allowed list — this error's family across 23 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of medusajs/medusa@5e06e544a2 (2026-08-27). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c22fcbc54efacdd8. Report an issue: GitHub.