GoogleContainerTools/skaffold · error

getting run context: %w

Error message

getting run context: %w

What it means

Wraps a getRunContext failure in printArtifactDiagnostics during `skaffold diagnose`. getRunContext assembles the full run context (parsed configs, kube context, default repo, tagger inputs); failures usually mean the skaffold.yaml could not be loaded/validated or cluster context resolution failed, so artifact diagnostics cannot proceed.

Source

Thrown at cmd/skaffold/app/cmd/diagnose.go:109

	if enableTemplating {
		if err := tags.ApplyTemplates(configs); err != nil {
			return err
		}
	}
	buf, err := yaml.MarshalWithSeparator(configs)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("marshalling configuration: %w", err)
	}

	out.Write(buf)

	return nil
}

func printArtifactDiagnostics(ctx context.Context, out io.Writer, configs []schemaUtil.VersionedConfig) error {
	runCtx, err := getRunContext(ctx, opts, configs)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("getting run context: %w", err)
	}
	tagger, err := tag.NewTaggerMux(runCtx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("getting tagger: %w", err)
	}
	imageTags, err := deployutil.ImageTags(ctx, runCtx, tagger, out, runCtx.Artifacts())
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("getting tags: %w", err)
	}
	for _, c := range configs {
		config := c.(*latest.SkaffoldConfig)
		fmt.Fprintln(out, "Skaffold version:", version.Get().GitCommit)
		fmt.Fprintln(out, "Configuration version:", config.APIVersion)
		fmt.Fprintln(out, "Number of artifacts:", len(config.Build.Artifacts))
		if err := diagnose.CheckArtifacts(ctx, runCtx, imageTags, out); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("running diagnostic on artifacts: %w", err)
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to a1189de023)

Solutions

1. Fix the wrapped error from getRunContext — usually a skaffold.yaml validation message; run `skaffold diagnose` from the project root
2. Validate config with `skaffold diagnose` flags like --profile off, or `skaffold run --dry-run` style checks
3. Ensure the kube-context given via --kube-context exists (kubectl config get-contexts)
4. Remove or fix profiles/overrides referencing missing files

Example fix

// before
skaffold diagnose --kube-context prod-ctx   # context deleted
// after
kubectl config get-contexts
skaffold diagnose --kube-context staging-ctx

# preconditions before diagnose
kubectl config get-contexts            # kube-context exists?
test -f skaffold.yaml && echo "config present"
# validate config parses
skaffold diagnose --profile <none> 2>&1 | head -5

if err := run(); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "getting run context:") {
        // re-run with explicit flags: --kube-context, --default-repo
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: `skaffold diagnose` calls getRunContext(ctx, opts, configs) and it errors — typically an invalid or missing skaffold.yaml section, unresolvable --kube-context, or invalid --default-repo flag.

Common situations: Running diagnose outside a directory with skaffold.yaml; malformed config failing validation; specifying a kube-context that does not exist in kubeconfig; profile referencing missing base config.

Related errors

• c.Message (pod status condition message)
• INSPECT_PROFILE_NOT_FOUND_ERR
• cannot resolve active Kubernetes context - multiple contexts
• filename not specified
• getting tagger: %w

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/skaffold@a1189de023 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9d99cea208867797. Report an issue: GitHub.