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Common issues and solutions

With the update to Paperparrot 3.0, server responses are more strictly validated and errors are communicated more clearly. This does mean that new errors may appear for setups that worked before. Here are some of the most common errors and solutions for them:

The data couldn't be read because it is missing​

This is a blanket decoding error shown when an API response contains an unexpected empty field. For some users, this appeared after updating to Paperparrot 3.0.0+ and is caused by a malformed response on the custom fields endpoint.

To fix this, try opening each of your custom fields in the Paperless WebUI and saving it (you don't have to change anything). This will cause the field to be updated in the Paperless database and returned in the correct format for future API request. Screenshot of the custom field edit page

[Attribute] missing in local database​

This error is shown when an attribute is not present in the local database in Paperparrot. The most common reason for this is a lack of permissions to see the attribute. Make sure to allow at least View access to all attributes you plan to use with a certain user (you can also use groups for that). Screenshot of the attribute permission settings

Forbidden​

This error is shown when your user account does not have access to an API endpoint. To fix this, make sure your user account has at least View permissions for the following endpoints (you can also use a group for that):

  • Document
  • Tag
  • Correspondent
  • DocumentType
  • StoragePath
  • SavedView
  • PaperlessTask
  • UI Settings
  • User
  • Group
  • CustomField Screenshot of the user permission settings

Setting permissions using a group​

If your server has multiple users, it may be easier and quicker to manage their basic permissions with a group. Just create a group with some memorable name (for example "Paperparrot Users") and the following permissions and assign it to all the user accounts you want to use Paperparrot with: Screenshot of the group permission settings

Unexpected HTTP status: 406​

Since release 3.0.0, Paperparrot requires your server to run Paperless-ngx version 2.14.0 or higher. If you're still running an older version of Paperless, please update your server. For guidance, refer to the Paperless documentation.