What causes "group field not found" in vxcontrol/pentagi?

Use a valid group field name listed in flowsSQLMappers (check pkg/server/services/flows.go for allowed keys).

Flows.InvalidRequest

Flows.InvalidRequest

Error message

group field not found

What it means

GetFlows supports a 'group' query parameter that must name a column known to flowsSQLMappers. When the requested group field is not in the mapper whitelist, the service rejects the query with this Flows.InvalidRequest error instead of building an unsafe/unknown GROUP BY.

Source

Thrown at backend/pkg/server/services/flows.go:115

		scope = func(db *gorm.DB) *gorm.DB {
			return db
		}
	} else if slices.Contains(privs, "flows.view") {
		scope = func(db *gorm.DB) *gorm.DB {
			return db.Where("user_id = ?", uid)
		}
	} else {
		logger.FromContext(c).Errorf("error filtering user role permissions: permission not found")
		response.Error(c, response.ErrNotPermitted, nil)
		return
	}

	query.Init("flows", flowsSQLMappers)

	if query.Group != "" {
		if _, ok := flowsSQLMappers[query.Group]; !ok {
			logger.FromContext(c).Errorf("error finding flows grouped: group field not found")
			response.Error(c, response.ErrFlowsInvalidRequest, errors.New("group field not found"))
			return
		}

		var respGrouped flowsGrouped
		if respGrouped.Total, err = query.QueryGrouped(s.db, &respGrouped.Grouped, scope); err != nil {
			logger.FromContext(c).WithError(err).Errorf("error finding flows grouped")
			response.Error(c, response.ErrInternal, err)
			return
		}

		response.Success(c, http.StatusOK, respGrouped)
		return
	}

	if resp.Total, err = query.Query(s.db, &resp.Flows, scope); err != nil {
		logger.FromContext(c).WithError(err).Errorf("error finding flows")
		response.Error(c, response.ErrInternal, err)
		return

View on GitHub (pinned to ea665308ba)

Solutions

Use a valid group field name listed in flowsSQLMappers (check pkg/server/services/flows.go for allowed keys).
Fix casing/snake_case mismatches (e.g. group=type, not group=Type).
Update the frontend dropdown/filter to emit only mapper-backed field names.
If a new grouping field is genuinely needed, add it to flowsSQLMappers server-side.

Example fix

// before
GET /flows?group=flowStatus
// after
GET /flows?group=status

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const ALLOWED_GROUPS = ['status','type','created_at']; // mirror flowsSQLMappers
if (group && !ALLOWED_GROUPS.includes(group)) {
  throw new Error(`group field not found: ${group}`);
}

Try / catch

try {
  const flows = await getFlows({ group });
  render(flows);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.code === 'Flows.InvalidRequest' && /group field not found/.test(e.message)) {
    setGroup(null); // fall back to ungrouped view
    notify('Unsupported grouping; showing ungrouped results.');
  } else { throw e; }
}

Prevention

Generate the groupable-field list from the backend mappers instead of hardcoding.
Use snake_case names exactly as defined in flowsSQLMappers.
Add an integration test per group field the UI exposes.
On upgrade, diff mapper keys against frontend group options.

When it happens

Trigger: GET /flows?group=<field> where <field> is not one of the keys in flowsSQLMappers (typo, wrong casing, or a field that is not groupable, e.g. group=status_text when only group=status exists).

Common situations: Frontend sending a computed/alias column name instead of the raw mapper key; API version drift after mappers were renamed; hand-written integrations guessing field names; localized or camelCase names passed where the mapper uses snake_case.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of vxcontrol/pentagi@ea665308ba (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/aebf2b02f2498e5a. Report an issue: GitHub.