DNS automated resolution failed: APIKey or SecretKey is…

Error message

DNS automated resolution failed: APIKey or SecretKey is empty in AliDNS configuration file

What it means

SetDnsAliyun configures the lego Alibaba Cloud (alidns) DNS-01 provider. It first validates keyConfig: if the map is nil or 'APIKey' (AccessKey ID) / 'SecretKey' (AccessKey Secret) are empty, it fails fast with this message. Alibaba Cloud DNS API calls require both an AccessKey ID and matching secret for signature authentication.

Solutions

Set both keyConfig["APIKey"] (AccessKey ID) and keyConfig["SecretKey"] (AccessKey Secret) to non-empty values.
Confirm exact map key spellings: 'APIKey' and 'SecretKey'.
Create an Aliyun RAM AccessKey pair with DNS (alidns) permissions if credentials are missing.
Re-save the provider config in the UI/database and verify the row is populated.

Example fix

// before
keyConfig := map[string]string{"AccessKeyId": ak} // wrong keys
// after
keyConfig := map[string]string{"APIKey": ak, "SecretKey": sk}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if ak, sk := keyConfig["APIKey"], keyConfig["SecretKey"]; ak == "" || sk == "" {
    return errors.New("alidns DNS config requires non-empty APIKey and SecretKey")
}

Type guard

func hasAliyunKeys(m map[string]string) bool {
    return m != nil && m["APIKey"] != "" && m["SecretKey"] != ""
}

Prevention

Store Aliyun credentials under the exact keys APIKey and SecretKey.
Validate non-empty credentials when the user saves the DNS config.
Ensure RAM AccessKeys are created with programmatic access.
Scope the AccessKey to alidns permissions only.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ApplySSLWithExistingServer with dnsProvider 'alidns' whose keyConfig is nil or has empty 'APIKey'/'SecretKey' entries (acme.go:157-159).

Common situations: Aliyun AccessKey created but only the ID stored; RAM user without enabled programmatic access keys; map keys renamed (e.g. 'AccessKeyId') so lookups return empty strings; DNS config never saved for the domain.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of Billionmail/BillionMail@fc36c76c05 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/318ac07fd28876c1. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at core/internal/service/acme/acme.go:158

		return errors.New(public.LangCtx(ctx, "DNS provider initialization failed: {}", err.Error()))
	}

	err = client.Challenge.SetDNS01Provider(p)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.New(public.LangCtx(ctx, "DNS verification setup failed: {}", err.Error()))
	}
	return nil
}

/**
 * @description: Configure DNS verification via Alibaba Cloud
 * @param {*lego.Client} client Client
 * @param {map[string]string} keyConfig Configuration information
 * @return error Error information
 */
func SetDnsAliyun(ctx context.Context, client *lego.Client, keyConfig map[string]string) error {
	if keyConfig == nil || keyConfig["APIKey"] == "" || keyConfig["SecretKey"] == "" {
		return errors.New(public.LangCtx(ctx, "DNS automated resolution failed: APIKey or SecretKey is empty in AliDNS configuration file"))
	}

	cfg := alidns.NewDefaultConfig()
	cfg.APIKey = keyConfig["APIKey"]
	cfg.SecretKey = keyConfig["SecretKey"]

	p, err := alidns.NewDNSProviderConfig(cfg)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.New(public.LangCtx(ctx, "DNS provider initialization failed: {}", err.Error()))
	}

	err = client.Challenge.SetDNS01Provider(p)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.New(public.LangCtx(ctx, "DNS verification setup failed: {}", err.Error()))
	}

	return nil
}

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