openai/openai-python · error · ValueError

Expected a non-empty value for `vector_store_id` but receive

Error message

Expected a non-empty value for `vector_store_id` but received {vector_store_id!r}

What it means

Creating a vector store file via `client.vector_stores.files.create` requires a non-empty `vector_store_id`. The SDK validates path parameters before the POST to `/vector_stores/{vector_store_id}/files` and raises ValueError for empty values to avoid malformed requests.

Source

Thrown at src/openai/resources/vector_stores/files.py:96

          attributes: Set of 16 key-value pairs that can be attached to an object. This can be useful
              for storing additional information about the object in a structured format, and
              querying for objects via API or the dashboard. Keys are strings with a maximum
              length of 64 characters. Values are strings with a maximum length of 512
              characters, booleans, or numbers.

          chunking_strategy: The chunking strategy used to chunk the file(s). If not set, will use the `auto`
              strategy. Only applicable if `file_ids` is non-empty.

          extra_headers: Send extra headers

          extra_query: Add additional query parameters to the request

          extra_body: Add additional JSON properties to the request

          timeout: Override the client-level default timeout for this request, in seconds
        """
        if not vector_store_id:
            raise ValueError(f"Expected a non-empty value for `vector_store_id` but received {vector_store_id!r}")
        extra_headers = {"OpenAI-Beta": "assistants=v2", **(extra_headers or {})}
        return self._post(
            path_template("/vector_stores/{vector_store_id}/files", vector_store_id=vector_store_id),
            body=maybe_transform(
                {
                    "file_id": file_id,
                    "attributes": attributes,
                    "chunking_strategy": chunking_strategy,
                },
                file_create_params.FileCreateParams,
            ),
            options=make_request_options(
                extra_headers=extra_headers,
                extra_query=extra_query,
                extra_body=extra_body,
                timeout=timeout,
                security={"bearer_auth": True},
            ),

View on GitHub (pinned to 9917c6e28e)

Solutions

Use the id from creation: `vs = client.vector_stores.create(...)` then `vs.id`
If passing an object, extract `.id`: `vector_store_id=store.id`
Print/log the variable right before the call to confirm it is populated

Example fix

# before
client.vector_stores.files.create(vector_store_id="", file_id="file-abc")

# after
vs = client.vector_stores.create(name="docs")
file = client.vector_stores.files.create(vector_store_id=vs.id, file_id="file-abc")

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

vs_id = getattr(store, "id", store)  # accept object or id
if not isinstance(vs_id, str) or not vs_id:
    raise ValueError(f"vector_store_id must be a non-empty string, got {vs_id!r}")
file = client.vector_stores.files.create(vector_store_id=vs_id, file_id=file_id)

Type guard

from openai.types.vector_store import VectorStore

def resolve_store_id(v: str | VectorStore) -> str:
    return v.id if isinstance(v, VectorStore) else v

Try / catch

try:
    file = client.vector_stores.files.create(vector_store_id=vs_id, file_id=file_id)
except ValueError as e:
    logger.error("Bad arguments: %s", e)
    raise

Prevention

Capture vs.id from client.vector_stores.create immediately
Use keyword arguments to avoid positional mix-ups
Centralize id resolution (object or string) in one helper

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `client.vector_stores.files.create(vector_store_id="" or None, file_id="file-abc")`, or when the vector store was created but its `.id` was not captured; `upload` and `upload_and_poll` forward their `vector_store_id` argument and hit the same check.

Common situations: Passing a `VectorStore` object instead of its `.id`, an unset environment/config variable holding the store id, or a store created in a different flow/variable scope.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of openai/openai-python@9917c6e28e (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4754e8528bd7e538. Report an issue: GitHub.