STRING_TOO_LONG" salesforce field error

TL;DR

The value is longer than the field allows. Look up the field's max length with describe, then either trim the value to fit (at a sensible boundary, not mid-word) or widen the field if the data legitimately needs the room. Fix it in the pipeline so every future row is safe, not just this one.

Error

[ {
  "message" : "data value too large: [ABC Corp International Holdings Limited Partnership ...] (max length=80)",
  "errorCode" : "STRING_TOO_LONG",
  "fields" : [ "Name" ]
} ]

Steps

1. Read the max length from the message and confirm it with a describe call on the field. Expected: you know the exact limit, for example 80 on Account Name.
2. Decide: is the long value correct data or junk? Enrichment vendors love appending suffixes that push names over the limit. Expected: a data-quality call, not just a technical one.
3. If the value is legitimate, widen the field in Setup (custom fields can grow; standard Name fields usually cannot). Expected: the schema fits reality.
4. If the field cannot grow, truncate in the pipeline at a word boundary and log the truncation. Expected: deterministic short values, no mid-word cuts.
5. Add a length check to the agent's pre-write validation so the next long value is caught before the API call. Expected: zero STRINGTOOLONG in steady state.

When to use

• Writes fail with STRINGTOOLONG naming a field.
• An enrichment agent fills fields with vendor data longer than Salesforce allows.
• CSV imports fail on a few long rows.

When not to use

• INVALIDORNULLFORRESTRICTED_PICKLIST (wrong value, not long value).
• Textarea fields with rich text (length counts markup too; different handling).

Tool compatibility

• Salesforce REST, SOAP, and Bulk APIs; describe calls for field metadata.
• Any ETL or agent that writes free-text fields.

Variant phrasings

data value too large (max length=N)

The long form; N is the hard limit.

STRINGTOOLONG on Description or custom text

Same fix; textareas have larger but still finite limits.

Why it happens

Salesforce enforces field lengths at the database level. Source systems and enrichment vendors rarely respect those limits, so long values arrive constantly.

Edge cases

• Multi-byte characters: the limit is in characters, but some integrations count bytes; test with unicode data.
• Formula fields that concatenate can exceed limits downstream even when each input fits.
• Truncating an external id breaks future upserts; never truncate key fields, fix the key instead.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_4U3B--0-hASMak8LfmyAEg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_4U3B--0-hASMak8LfmyAEg

Thread query: "STRINGTOOLONG" salesforce field error

TL;DR: The value is longer than the field allows. Look up the field's max length with describe, then either trim the value to fit (at a sensible boundary, not mid-word) or widen the field if the data legitimately needs the room. Fix it in the pipeline so every future row is safe, not just this one.