GoogleContainerTools/skaffold · error

opening config file: %w

Error message

opening config file: %w

What it means

ParseKubernetesObjects opens the YAML file given to it and wraps any os.Open failure in 'opening config file: %w'. It means the file path handed to Skaffold (e.g. a manifest in skaffold.yaml or a validate/transform input) could not be opened — typically it does not exist or is not readable.

Source

Thrown at pkg/skaffold/kubernetes/util.go:84

		return nil, err
	}

	var images []string
	for _, k8sObject := range k8sObjects {
		images = append(images, parseImagesFromYaml(k8sObject)...)
	}

	return images, nil
}

// ParseKubernetesObjects uses required fields from the k8s spec
// to determine if a provided yaml file is a valid k8s manifest, as detailed in
// https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/kubernetes-objects/#required-fields.
// If so, it will return the parsed objects.
func ParseKubernetesObjects(filepath string) ([]yamlObject, error) {
	f, err := os.Open(filepath)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("opening config file: %w", err)
	}
	defer f.Close()

	r := k8syaml.NewYAMLReader(bufio.NewReader(f))

	var k8sObjects []yamlObject

	for {
		doc, err := r.Read()
		if err == io.EOF {
			break
		}
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("reading config file: %w", err)
		}

		obj := make(yamlObject)
		if err := yaml.Unmarshal(doc, &obj); err != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to a1189de023)

Solutions

1. Check the file exists: `ls -l <path>` for every path listed under manifests (or the path passed to the API)
2. Fix the path in skaffold.yaml or pass an absolute path / run from the correct working directory
3. If the file is generated by an earlier step, ensure that step runs and writes the file before this parse
4. Verify read permissions on the file

Example fix

// before (skaffold.yaml)
manifests:
  - k8s/deploymnet.yaml
// after
manifests:
  - k8s/deployment.yaml

func validateManifestPaths(paths []string) error {
    for _, p := range paths {
        fi, err := os.Stat(p)
        if err != nil {
            return fmt.Errorf("manifest %s: %w", p, err)
        }
        if fi.IsDir() {
            return fmt.Errorf("manifest %s is a directory, expected a file", p)
        }
        if fi.Mode()&0o400 == 0 {
            return fmt.Errorf("manifest %s is not readable", p)
        }
    }
    return nil
}

objects, err := kubernetes.ParseKubernetesObjects(path)
if err != nil {
    var pe *fs.PathError
    if errors.As(err, &pe) && errors.Is(pe.Err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
        log.Fatalf("manifest file missing: %s (check skaffold.yaml paths and cwd)", path)
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ParseKubernetesObjects (directly or via validateManifests, IsKubernetesManifest, ParseImagesFromKubernetesYaml) with a path that doesn't exist, is a directory, or lacks read permission; os.Open returns an error which is wrapped here.

Common situations: Typo in skaffold.yaml manifest paths; file generated by a prior build step was never produced; running skaffold from a different working directory with relative paths; file deleted between listing and parse.

Understand the failure class

Background: "File not found" and ENOENT errors: why libraries can't find a file that should exist — this error's family across 50 libraries.

Related errors

• cannot resolve active Kubernetes context - multiple contexts
• reading config file: %w
• writing config file: %w
• could not read the hydrated manifest from %v: %w
• reading config file: %w

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/skaffold@a1189de023 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/314ea10b438c9d5e. Report an issue: GitHub.