BerriAI/litellm · error · UpError

{path} contains invalid or unexpected JSON; cannot restore f

Error message

{path} contains invalid or unexpected JSON; cannot restore from it safely.

What it means

Raised by read_backup in the CLI up command when the config backup file at BACKUP_PATH parses as JSON but does not match the expected {'existed', 'content'} BackupRecord shape (or fails to parse). Because `up` may need to restore the original config on failure, it refuses to restore from a backup it cannot trust and aborts; the path is embedded in the message.

Source

Thrown at litellm/proxy/client/cli/commands/up.py:116

def write_backup(record: BackupRecord, backup_path: Path | None = None) -> None:
    path: Final = backup_path if backup_path is not None else BACKUP_PATH
    path.parent.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
    with secure_create(path) as f:
        json.dump({"existed": record.existed, "content": record.content}, f, indent=2)


def read_backup(backup_path: Path | None = None) -> BackupRecord | None:
    path: Final = backup_path if backup_path is not None else BACKUP_PATH
    if not path.exists():
        return None
    with open(path, "r") as f:
        content: Final = f.read()
    try:
        return _BACKUP_RECORD_ADAPTER.validate_json(content)
    except ValidationError:
        raise UpError(f"{path} contains invalid or unexpected JSON; cannot restore from it safely.")


def restore_claude_settings(settings_path: Path | None = None, backup_path: Path | None = None) -> BackupRecord | None:
    """Restore settings_path from the backup at backup_path, then delete the backup.

    Returns the restored record, or None if there was nothing to restore.
    """
    resolved_settings_path: Final = settings_path if settings_path is not None else CLAUDE_SETTINGS_PATH
    resolved_backup_path: Final = backup_path if backup_path is not None else BACKUP_PATH
    record: Final = read_backup(resolved_backup_path)
    if record is None:
        return None
    if record.existed and record.content is not None:
        resolved_settings_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
        with open(resolved_settings_path, "w") as f:
            json.dump(record.content, f, indent=2)
    elif resolved_settings_path.exists():
        resolved_settings_path.unlink()

View on GitHub (pinned to 77b7c6c40c)

Solutions

1. Fix or remove the corrupt file so `lite up` can restore safely.

Example fix

Validate the file with python -m json.tool, or delete it and re-run lite up.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at litellm/proxy/client/cli/commands/up.py:116 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: The backup/state file `lite up` restores from contains invalid JSON.

AI-assisted analysis of BerriAI/litellm@77b7c6c40c (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5b157c521784a107. Report an issue: GitHub.