payloadcms/payload · error · Error

Error fetching data from locale "${fromLocale}"

Error message

Error fetching data from locale "${fromLocale}"

What it means

Thrown after copyDataFromLocale runs its two locale reads through Promise.allSettled; the SOURCE-locale fetch (findByID for a collection, or findGlobal) was rejected. This message is a wrapper - the real underlying error lives in `fromLocaleData.reason` (DB error, access denial, not-found, bad locale code) and is logged server-side but not surfaced in the message.

Source

Thrown at packages/ui/src/utilities/copyDataFromLocale.ts:294

          overrideAccess: false,
          user,
          // `select` would allow us to select only the fields we need in the future
        })
      : payload.findByID({
          id: docID,
          collection: collectionSlug,
          depth: 0,
          draft: true,
          joins: false,
          locale: toLocale,
          overrideAccess: false,
          user,
          // `select` would allow us to select only the fields we need in the future
        }),
  ])

  if (fromLocaleData.status === 'rejected') {
    throw new Error(`Error fetching data from locale "${fromLocale}"`)
  }

  if (toLocaleData.status === 'rejected') {
    throw new Error(`Error fetching data from locale "${toLocale}"`)
  }

  const fields = globalSlug
    ? globals[globalSlug].config.fields
    : collections[collectionSlug].config.fields

  const fromLocaleDataWithoutID = fromLocaleData.value
  const toLocaleDataWithoutID = toLocaleData.value

  const dataWithID = overrideData
    ? fromLocaleDataWithoutID
    : mergeData(fromLocaleDataWithoutID, toLocaleDataWithoutID, fields, req, false)

  const data = removeIdIfParentIsLocalized(dataWithID, fields)

View on GitHub (pinned to 00c58b35c0)

Solutions

1. Confirm `fromLocale` is listed in `payload.config.localization.locales` and the collection/global is localized.
2. Verify the user has read access to the document in `fromLocale`.
3. Inspect the server logs for `fromLocaleData.reason` to find the true underlying error (DB, access, not-found).
4. Ensure the document exists and has a draft in the source locale before invoking copy.
5. Retry the copy action after resolving transient DB issues.

const configuredLocales =
  (req.payload.config.localization?.locales ?? []).map((l) => l.code)
if (!configuredLocales.includes(fromLocale)) {
  // abort before calling copyDataFromLocale: source locale not configured
}
// optional: confirm the doc has a draft in fromLocale
const exists = await payload.findByID({
  id: docID,
  collection: collectionSlug,
  depth: 0,
  draft: true,
  locale: fromLocale,
  overrideAccess: false,
  user,
}).catch(() => null)
if (!exists) {
  // abort: nothing to copy from this locale
}

function isConfiguredLocale(
  code: string,
  config: { localization?: { locales: Array<{ code: string }> } },
): boolean {
  return (config.localization?.locales ?? []).some((l) => l.code === code)
}

try {
  await copyDataFromLocale(args)
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && err.message.startsWith('Error fetching data from locale')) {
    // surface a user-facing message; the real reason is in the server logs
  } else {
    throw err
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: `fromLocale` is not in config.localization.locales; the collection/global is not localized; the document has no draft in that locale; the user lacks read access; the docID does not exist; a transient DB error during the admin copy action.

Common situations: Requesting a locale that was removed from config, copying from a locale whose draft was never created, restricted access policies on the source locale, transient DB/connectivity outage during the copy-locale admin action.

Related errors

• Error fetching data from locale "${toLocale}"
• Either collectionSlug or globalSlug must be provided
• Cannot provide both collectionSlug and globalSlug
• Localization is not enabled in payload config
• ${collectionSlug ? 'Collection' : 'Global'} not found: ${col

AI-assisted analysis of payloadcms/payload@00c58b35c0 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b666e5cb3b152fbf. Report an issue: GitHub.