octobercms/october · error · SystemException

Dropdown menu item label is not provided for item type :type

Error message

Dropdown menu item label is not provided for item type :type

What it means

ItemDefinition is the PHP value object behind backend dropdown menus. Its constructor requires a non-empty label for every item type except TYPE_SEPARATOR (separators render a dividing line, not text). Instantiating any visible item without a label throws immediately at construction time.

Source

Thrown at modules/backend/vuecomponents/dropdownmenu/ItemDefinition.php:86

    /**
     * @var string|null key
     */
    protected $key = null;

    /**
     * @var string|null group
     */
    protected $group;

    /**
     * __construct
     */
    public function __construct($type, ?string $label = null, ?string $command = null)
    {
        $this->type = $type;

        if ($type != ItemDefinition::TYPE_SEPARATOR && !strlen($label)) {
            throw new SystemException('Dropdown menu item label is not provided for item type '.$type);
        }

        if ($type != ItemDefinition::TYPE_SEPARATOR && !strlen($command)) {
            throw new SystemException('Dropdown menu item command is not provided for item type '.$type);
        }

        $this->label = $label;
        $this->command = $command;
    }

    /**
     * Sets optional item key attribute
     */
    public function setKey(string $value)
    {
        $this->key = $value;
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to b608633a7e)

Solutions

1. Pass a non-empty label as the second constructor argument: new ItemDefinition(ItemDefinition::TYPE_LINK, 'Open', 'openTab').
2. Guard dynamic data: skip or default items whose label is null/empty before constructing.
3. Use ItemDefinition::TYPE_SEPARATOR for visual dividers — the only type allowed to omit label and command.

Example fix

// before
$item = new ItemDefinition(ItemDefinition::TYPE_LINK);

// after
$item = new ItemDefinition(ItemDefinition::TYPE_LINK, 'Open in new tab', 'openTab');

// separator is the only label-less type
$sep = new ItemDefinition(ItemDefinition::TYPE_SEPARATOR);

// Menu builder helper - validate labels coming from dynamic data
function makeItem($type, $label, $command)
{
    if ($type !== ItemDefinition::TYPE_SEPARATOR && !strlen(trim((string) $label))) {
        throw new InvalidArgumentException('Menu label missing for type ' . $type);
    }
    return new ItemDefinition($type, $label, $command);
}

When it happens

Trigger: new ItemDefinition(ItemDefinition::TYPE_LINK) with the second argument omitted (defaults to null); menu builders that read labels from data or localization and get null/empty for some rows.

Common situations: Menu items built from database rows where the label column is null; forgetting that separators are the only label-less type; passing label and command in the wrong order (type, label, command).

Related errors

• Dropdown menu item command is not provided for item type :ty
• Checkbox and radiobutton dropdown menu items cannot have ico
• getDependencies() must return an array: %s
• Vue component class not found: %s
• Vue component class must be a descendant of Backend\Classes\

AI-assisted analysis of octobercms/october@b608633a7e (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2da2fb1839630b3c. Report an issue: GitHub.