octobercms/october · error · SystemException

Document data is not provided

Error message

Document data is not provided

What it means

The EditorExtension's onOpenDocument command requires the POST body to carry a documentData array (with at least 'key' and 'type' keys, both enforced afterwards). If post('documentData') is missing or not an array, this SystemException is thrown — an internal API-contract violation rather than an end-user error.

Source

Thrown at modules/cms/classes/editorextension/HasExtensionCrud.php:39

use Cms\Classes\ComponentPartial;
use Cms\Classes\EditorExtension;
use October\Rain\Halcyon\Model as HalcyonModel;
use October\Rain\Router\Router as RainRouter;
use Editor\Classes\ApiHelpers;

/**
 * HasExtensionCrud implements CRUD operations for the CMS Editor Extension
 */
trait HasExtensionCrud
{
    /**
     * command_onOpenDocument
     */
    protected function command_onOpenDocument()
    {
        $documentData = post('documentData');
        if (!is_array($documentData)) {
            throw new SystemException('Document data is not provided');
        }

        $key = ApiHelpers::assertGetKey($documentData, 'key');
        $documentType = ApiHelpers::assertGetKey($documentData, 'type');
        $this->assertDocumentTypePermissions($documentType);

        $extraData = $this->getRequestExtraData();

        $isResetFromTemplateFileRequest = isset($extraData['resetFromTemplateFile']);
        if ($isResetFromTemplateFileRequest) {
            $this->resetFromTemplateFile($documentType, $key);
        }

        $template = $this->loadTemplate($documentType, $key);
        if ($documentType === EditorExtension::DOCUMENT_TYPE_LANG) {
            $templateData = [
                'content' => $this->mergeLangContentWithDefaultKeys($template)
            ];

View on GitHub (pinned to b608633a7e)

Solutions

1. Send documentData as an array containing at least 'key' (template path) and 'type' (one of page|partial|layout|content|asset|lang)
2. Use the built-in CMS editor JavaScript rather than hand-crafted requests
3. After upgrading Winter, clear cached assets (php artisan cache:clear, re-run winter:mirror) so matching editor JS loads

Example fix

// before
$.request('onOpenDocument', { data: { type: 'page', key: 'index.htm' } });

// after
$.request('onOpenDocument', { data: { documentData: { type: 'page', key: 'index.htm' } } });

if (!is_array($documentData = request()->input('documentData'))) {
    // build the payload correctly instead of letting the editor command throw
    $documentData = ['type' => $type, 'key' => $key];
}

function isDocumentData(payload) {
  return payload != null && typeof payload === 'object' &&
    typeof payload.type === 'string' && typeof payload.key === 'string' && !Array.isArray(payload);
}

When it happens

Trigger: POSTing to the editor extension's openDocument command without a documentData field; sending documentData as a JSON string instead of a parsed array; a request mangled by middleware or a version mismatch between the editor JS bundle and the PHP backend.

Common situations: Custom tooling calling editor endpoints directly; Winter core updated but stale cached editor assets still served; debugging requests replayed without the full payload.

Related errors

• Invalid documentMetadata
• Component not found
• cms::lang.component.no_records
• cms::lang.component.not_found
• Component does use a default partial

AI-assisted analysis of octobercms/october@b608633a7e (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2225fe98b8dc89d0. Report an issue: GitHub.