octobercms/october · error · ApplicationException

Cannot find a dashboard with the specified slug: ":slug".

Error message

Cannot find a dashboard with the specified slug: ":slug".

What it means

Thrown by Dashboard::updateDashboard when saving a dashboard definition: it lowercases the slug, scopes the query with applyOwner($owner) and looks for a row where code = slug. If no matching row exists for that owner, an ApplicationException aborts the save. The dashboard record is normally created beforehand by Dashboard::syncAll, so this error means the record was never synced, was deleted, or the slug does not match the stored code.

Solutions

1. Make sure the dashboard definition exists for the owner before saving: run/check Dashboard::syncAll($owner, $definitions) so a row with that code is created.
2. Verify the slug matches the stored code column exactly (updateDashboard compares after strtolower(), so the stored code must survive lowercasing).
3. Confirm the $owner argument is the same value used when the dashboard was created (applyOwner filters by it).
4. Wrap the call in a try/catch for ApplicationException and either create the dashboard or show a friendly validation message instead of a 500.

Example fix

// before
Dashboard::updateDashboard($owner, $slug, $definition);

// after - ensure the record exists, mirroring the model's own lookup
$slug = strtolower(trim($slug));
if (!Dashboard::applyOwner($owner)->where('code', $slug)->exists()) {
    throw new ValidationException(['slug' => "Unknown dashboard slug: {$slug}"]);
}
Dashboard::updateDashboard($owner, $slug, $definition);

use Dashboard\Models\Dashboard;

$slug = strtolower(trim($slug));
$exists = Dashboard::applyOwner($owner)->where('code', $slug)->exists();
if (!$exists) {
    throw new \ValidationException(['slug' => "Dashboard '{$slug}' not found for this owner"]);
}

try {
    Dashboard::updateDashboard($owner, $slug, $definition);
} catch (\ApplicationException $e) {
    // slug unknown for this owner: sync definitions or report to the user
    \Flash::error($e->getMessage());
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Dashboard::updateDashboard($owner, $slug, $definition) with a slug that has no row in dashboards for that owner; saving dashboard customizations in the backend before syncAll has run for the owner; passing a slug whose stored code differs after strtolower() (stored code has uppercase or whitespace); the record was deleted directly in the database.

Common situations: A plugin defines dashboards in its plugin registration but the user saves a dashboard before the definitions were synced to the database; dashboards tables were partially migrated or pruned; the slug is passed with different casing or leading/trailing whitespace; two owners share a slug but applyOwner scopes to only one.

Understand the failure class

Background: Record Not Found Errors: "not found", RecordNotFound, and "was not found" — what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• Slug must not be empty
• Attribute name cannot be empty for
• Attribute name must be empty for
• backend::lang.field.invalid_type
• backend::lang.widget.not_registered

AI-assisted analysis of octobercms/october@b608633a7e (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/da62be407a228949. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at modules/dashboard/models/Dashboard.php:144

     */
    public function resetDashboardPreference($owner, $field)
    {
        UserPreference::forUser()->reset($this->getUserPreferencesKey($owner, $field));
    }

    /**
     * updateDashboard
     */
    public function updateDashboard($owner, $field, $definition)
    {
        $field = strtolower($field);
        if (!strlen($field)) {
            throw new SystemException('Slug must not be empty');
        }

        $dashboard = self::applyOwner($owner)->where('code', $field)->first();
        if (!$dashboard) {
            throw new ApplicationException(
                __("Cannot find a dashboard with the specified slug: \":slug\".", ['slug' => $field])
            );
        }

        $dashboard->is_custom = true;
        $dashboard->definition = $definition;
        $dashboard->save();
    }

    /**
     * scopeListDashboards
     */
    public function scopeListDashboards($query, $owner)
    {
        $dashboards = $query->applyOwner($owner)->with('roles')->get();

        $user = BackendAuth::user();
        $userRoleId = $user?->role_id;

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