n8n-io/n8n · error · TypeORMError

Provided "limit" value is not a number. Please provide a num

Error message

Provided "limit" value is not a number. Please provide a numeric value.

What it means

Thrown by SelectQueryBuilder.limit when the value, after normalizeNumber, is not undefined yet isNaN. normalizeNumber returns the input as-is for real numbers/undefined/null, otherwise coerces via Number(); any non-numeric string becomes NaN and trips the guard.

Source

Thrown at packages/@n8n/typeorm/src/query-builder/SelectQueryBuilder.ts:1333

		if (nulls) {
			this.expressionMap.orderBys[sort] = { order, nulls };
		} else {
			this.expressionMap.orderBys[sort] = order;
		}
		return this;
	}

	/**
	 * Sets LIMIT - maximum number of rows to be selected.
	 * NOTE that it may not work as you expect if you are using joins.
	 * If you want to implement pagination, and you are having join in your query,
	 * then use the take method instead.
	 */
	limit(limit?: number): this {
		this.expressionMap.limit = this.normalizeNumber(limit);
		if (this.expressionMap.limit !== undefined && isNaN(this.expressionMap.limit))
			throw new TypeORMError(
				`Provided "limit" value is not a number. Please provide a numeric value.`,
			);

		return this;
	}

	/**
	 * Sets OFFSET - selection offset.
	 * NOTE that it may not work as you expect if you are using joins.
	 * If you want to implement pagination, and you are having join in your query,
	 * then use the skip method instead.
	 */
	offset(offset?: number): this {
		this.expressionMap.offset = this.normalizeNumber(offset);
		if (this.expressionMap.offset !== undefined && isNaN(this.expressionMap.offset))
			throw new TypeORMError(
				`Provided "offset" value is not a number. Please provide a numeric value.`,
			);

View on GitHub (pinned to 5ac6606e81)

Solutions

Coerce before calling: `qb.limit(Number(value))` and gate on `!Number.isFinite(Number(value))`.
Validate input: if (typeof value === 'string' && !/^\d+$/.test(value)) reject early.
Pass undefined instead of an empty string when no limit is intended.

Example fix

// before
qb.limit(req.query.limit); // string from query
// after
const limit = req.query.limit ? Number(req.query.limit) : undefined;
if (limit !== undefined && !Number.isFinite(limit)) throw new Error('limit must be numeric');
qb.limit(limit);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

function toFiniteNumber(value: unknown, max?: number): number | undefined {
  if (value == null || value === '') return undefined;
  const n = Number(value);
  if (!Number.isFinite(n)) throw new Error(`Expected a numeric limit, got: ${String(value)}`);
  if (n < 0) throw new Error('limit must be non-negative');
  return max !== undefined ? Math.min(n, max) : n;
}
// then: qb.limit(toFiniteNumber(req.query.limit, 1000));

Type guard

function isFiniteNumber(v: unknown): v is number {
  return typeof v === 'number' && Number.isFinite(v);
}

Prevention

Parse query/env strings to numbers once at the request boundary.
Cap page sizes to a sane maximum to protect the database.
Treat empty strings as undefined rather than forwarding them.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `.limit('abc')`, `.limit('')`, `.limit('10abc')`, or passing a query-string/CLI value typed as string that is not purely numeric. Passing an object or array also yields NaN after Number().

Common situations: Reading `limit` from `req.query` (always a string) and forgetting to parse; passing a user-typed page-size config that is empty or contains units ('10 rows'); default-value bugs where undefined chains into a string fallback.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of n8n-io/n8n@5ac6606e81 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/84b8fcc31c58cd58. Report an issue: GitHub.