invalid_data

What it means

invalid_data is a client error code on the OneLifeVibe Platform API. It comes with HTTP status 400, which means the server received the request but rejected it because of the request content. For this code, the problem is the ingest event's data field: the event has no data object.

The response body uses the Platform API error shape: {"error":{"code":"…","message":"…","hint":"…"}}. The code is invalid_data, the message describes the failure, and the hint may add context. A typical message is "data must be a JSON object." Codes are stable, so match on the code rather than the message.

Why you are seeing it

You will see this on a call to POST /api/platform/v1/ingest made by a world. The request reaches the endpoint, but the data field fails validation in one of three ways: it is absent, it is an array, or it is a value that is not a JSON object.

An empty array is still an array. A quoted string, a number, a boolean, or null is not an object. A JSON string that contains object-like text is still a string, so double serialization produces this error even when the text looks correct. The rest of the event may look fine; this check is about the presence and type of data.

How to fix it

Send data as a JSON object. A valid example is {"topic":"order.placed","data":{"order":"SC-1042"}}. Here data is present and its value is an object with a named key. If your event already has data, confirm the value is an object and not an array.

If you build the body with a serializer, pass an object or map for data, not a pre-serialized string. If you send an array, convert it to an object with keys that describe each value. If data is missing, add it before the call.

Read the message and hint in the error response for the specific validation detail. Then correct the payload and send the request again. Correct the body before retrying.

Handling it in code

In client code, branch on the error code. Compare error.code to invalid_data and treat it as a payload validation failure. Do not compare the message text, because the code is the stable contract.

Log the HTTP status, code, message, hint, and the JSON type of data from the request you sent. That record tells you whether data was omitted, sent as an array, or sent as another type. Avoid logging full payloads if they contain sensitive values; log the shape and type instead.

If the code is invalid_data, fix the data field before any retry. Related codes for ingest calls are invalid_topic and invalid_world_key, so check the code value rather than assuming every 400 is the same problem.