Resolving ValidationError: Value ... is not a valid choice in Django Models

Learn how to fix the `ValidationError` in Django when assigning values to model fields with choices, using proper data types.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/70624430/ asked by the user 'everspader' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/13641680/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/70624461/ provided by the user 'willeM_ Van Onsem' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/67579/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Resolving ValidationError: Value ... is not a valid choice in Django Models

When working with Django models, you might encounter a frustrating situation where you receive a ValidationError despite believing you’ve supplied a valid choice. This issue usually arises in scenarios where model fields are defined with specific choice constraints. In this guide, we’ll explore the typical cause of this problem and how you can effectively address it.

The Problem: ValidationError in Django

Imagine you have a Django model with a field called object_type, which is intended to accept certain values defined in a tuple of choices. Here’s the snippet of the model in question:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

When you attempt to create an instance of this model and assign an integer value to object_type, you might receive the following error message:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This error suggests that Django cannot recognize the provided integer as a valid choice for the object_type field.

The Root Cause: Choice Types Mismatch

The core issue lies in how the choices are defined for object_type. In your model, you've set object_type as a CharField, which expects the choices to be of type string. However, the choices you've defined are integers.

Here’s the key point:

Since object_type is declared as a CharField, you must define the keys of OBJECT_TYPES as strings, not integers. The correct definitions should look like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Solutions to Fix the ValidationError

To resolve this issue, you have two main approaches:

Option 1: Use String Choices

The simplest modification is to change the choice keys from integers to strings. This aligns the data type of your choices with the declaration of the CharField. Here’s the updated code snippet:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

With this code, if you attempt to create an object and assign a string representation of a number:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Option 2: Use IntegerField

If you prefer to keep the integer choices, you need to change the type of object_type from CharField to IntegerField in your model definition. Here’s how to do that:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Now you can create the object with an integer directly:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

Encountering a ValidationError in Django due to invalid choices can be troubling, but it’s usually a matter of ensuring that the data types for your choices match the field type in your model. Whether you decide to adjust the choice definitions or switch to an IntegerField, applying these adjustments will help you avoid unnecessary roadblocks while developing your Django application.

Feel free to share your experiences or reach out with any questions about Django models!

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