GoogleContainerTools/skaffold · error

failed to get cluster info for kubeContext: `%s`

Error message

failed to get cluster info for kubeContext: `%s`

What it means

GetClusterInfo loads the raw kubeconfig via getCurrentConfig and looks up rawConfig.Clusters[kctx]. Note it indexes the Clusters map by the kubeContext name, not by the context's cluster field — if no cluster entry with that name exists, this error is returned. Backticks in the message show the offending kctx value.

Source

Thrown at pkg/skaffold/kubernetes/context/context.go:81

// create a RESTClient with an in-cluster config.
func GetDefaultRestClientConfig() (*restclient.Config, error) {
	return getRestClientConfig(kubeContext, kubeConfigFile)
}

// GetRestClientConfig returns a REST client config for API calls against the Kubernetes API for the given context.
func GetRestClientConfig(kubeContext string) (*restclient.Config, error) {
	return getRestClientConfig(kubeContext, kubeConfigFile)
}

// GetClusterInfo returns the Cluster information for the given kubeContext
func GetClusterInfo(kctx string) (*clientcmdapi.Cluster, error) {
	rawConfig, err := getCurrentConfig()
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	c, found := rawConfig.Clusters[kctx]
	if !found {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to get cluster info for kubeContext: `%s`", kctx)
	}
	return c, nil
}

func getRestClientConfig(kctx string, kcfg string) (*restclient.Config, error) {
	log.Entry(context.TODO()).Debugf("getting client config for kubeContext: `%s`", kctx)

	rawConfig, err := getCurrentConfig()
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	clientConfig := clientcmd.NewNonInteractiveClientConfig(rawConfig, kctx, &clientcmd.ConfigOverrides{CurrentContext: kctx}, clientcmd.NewDefaultClientConfigLoadingRules())
	restConfig, err := clientConfig.ClientConfig()
	if kctx == "" && kcfg == "" && clientcmd.IsEmptyConfig(err) {
		log.Entry(context.TODO()).Debug("no kube-context set and no kubeConfig found, attempting in-cluster config")
		restConfig, err := restclient.InClusterConfig()
		if err != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to a1189de023)

Solutions

1. Run `kubectl config get-contexts` and `kubectl config view -o jsonpath='{.clusters[*].name}'` to see valid names
2. Pass the correct kubeContext (or the cluster name) to the API
3. Re-add the missing cluster entry: `kubectl config set-cluster <name> --server=<url>`

Example fix

// before: GetClusterInfo("minikube") but cluster entry is "minikube-noop"
// after: use the exact cluster name from the kubeconfig
kubectl config view -o jsonpath='{.clusters[*].name}'

raw, err := clientcmd.NewNonInteractiveDeferredLoadingClientConfig(
    clientcmd.NewDefaultClientConfigLoadingRules(), nil).RawConfig()
if err != nil {
    return err
}
if _, ok := raw.Clusters[kctx]; !ok {
    return fmt.Errorf("cluster %q not in kubeconfig; known: %v", kctx, maps.Keys(raw.Clusters))
}

func clusterInfoAvailable(kctx string) bool {
    raw, _ := clientcmd.NewNonInteractiveDeferredLoadingClientConfig(
        clientcmd.NewDefaultClientConfigLoadingRules(), nil).RawConfig()
    _, ok := raw.Clusters[kctx]
    return ok
}

info, err := context.GetClusterInfo(kctx)
if err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("cluster %q missing; run `kubectl config view -o jsonpath='{.clusters[*].name}'`: %w", kctx, err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: GetClusterInfo(kctx) with a kctx string that is not a key in the kubeconfig's clusters map — including passing a context name whose cluster entry is named differently, or a fully unknown context name.

Common situations: Typos in --kube-context; using a context name where a cluster name is expected; kubeconfig regenerated after cluster deletion so the cluster entry disappeared.

Related errors

• getting Kubernetes client: %w
• unable to connect to Kubernetes: %w
• error getting Kubernetes dynamic client: %w
• error getting Kubernetes client: %w
• resolving namespace: %w

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/skaffold@a1189de023 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/995ea8de260d93a7. Report an issue: GitHub.