refinedev/refine · error · Error

Invalid action type

Error message

Invalid action type

What it means

Refine's TanStack Query key builders (p(resource).action(actionType)) only accept 'many' (DataIds), 'list' and 'infinite' (Params). Any other string passed to action() hits this guard.

Source

Thrown at packages/core/src/definitions/helpers/keys/index.ts:125

  action(actionType: ParametrizedDataActions): ParamsKeyBuilder;
  action(actionType: IdRequiredDataActions): DataIdRequiringKeyBuilder;
  action(actionType: IdsRequiredDataActions): DataIdsRequiringKeyBuilder;
  action(
    actionType:
      | ParametrizedDataActions
      | IdRequiredDataActions
      | IdsRequiredDataActions,
  ): ParamsKeyBuilder | DataIdRequiringKeyBuilder | DataIdsRequiringKeyBuilder {
    if (actionType === "one") {
      return new DataIdRequiringKeyBuilder([...this.segments, actionType]);
    }
    if (actionType === "many") {
      return new DataIdsRequiringKeyBuilder([...this.segments, actionType]);
    }
    if (["list", "infinite"].includes(actionType)) {
      return new ParamsKeyBuilder([...this.segments, actionType]);
    }
    throw new Error("Invalid action type");
  }
}

class DataKeyBuilder extends BaseKeyBuilder {
  resource(resourceName?: string) {
    return new DataResourceKeyBuilder([...this.segments, resourceName]);
  }

  mutation(mutationName: DataMutationActions) {
    return new ParamsKeyBuilder([
      ...(mutationName === "custom" ? this.segments : [this.segments[0]]),
      mutationName,
    ]);
  }
}

class AuthKeyBuilder extends BaseKeyBuilder {
  action(actionType: AuthActionType) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 779d52a20e)

Solutions

1. Use 'many', 'list', or 'infinite' as the actionType
2. For single-record queries use the appropriate detail key builder instead of action()
3. Type the actionType as the builder's expected union to catch mistakes at compile time

Example fix

// before
queryClient.invalidateQueries(keyBuilder.data('posts').action('detail'));
// after
queryClient.invalidateQueries(keyBuilder.data('posts').action('list'));

const VALID_ACTIONS = ['many','list','infinite'] as const;
if (!VALID_ACTIONS.includes(actionType)) throw new Error('invalid action');

const isValidAction = (a: string): a is 'many' | 'list' | 'infinite' => ['many','list','infinite'].includes(a as any);

When it happens

Trigger: Calling keys().data(resource).action('one') or action('edit') — i.e. an action type outside ['many','list','infinite'] — typically when composing custom query keys or invalidating queries.

Common situations: Writing custom invalidation code that guesses at action names; refactor from older key formats; passing a resource action like 'create' instead of a query action.

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AI-assisted analysis of refinedev/refine@779d52a20e (2026-08-27). Data as JSON: /api/errors/88337533a5e87d2e. Report an issue: GitHub.