GoogleContainerTools/skaffold · error · ConfigParsingError

parsing dependencies for skaffold config %s: %w

Error message

parsing dependencies for skaffold config %s: %w

What it means

After resolving a dependency path, Skaffold calls os.Stat on local (non-URL) dependency paths. If Stat fails with an error other than not-exist (not-exist gets its own DependencyConfigFileNotFoundErr), the stat error is wrapped in ConfigParsingError with this message. It means the dependency file exists in intent but cannot be accessed or inspected by the process.

Source

Thrown at pkg/skaffold/parser/config.go:337

		cachePath, err := cacheGCSObject(ctx, *d.GoogleCloudStorage, opts, r)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, sErrors.ConfigParsingError(fmt.Errorf("caching remote dependency %s: %w", d.GoogleCloudStorage.Path, err))
		}
		path = cachePath
		isRemoteCfg = true
	}

	if path == "" {
		// empty path means configs in the same file
		path = cfgOpts.file
	}
	if !util.IsURL(path) {
		fi, err := os.Stat(path)
		if err != nil {
			if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
				return nil, sErrors.DependencyConfigFileNotFoundErr(path, cfgOpts.file, err)
			}
			return nil, sErrors.ConfigParsingError(fmt.Errorf("parsing dependencies for skaffold config %s: %w", cfgOpts.file, err))
		}
		if fi.IsDir() {
			path = filepath.Join(path, "skaffold.yaml")
		}
	}

	// if the current and previous configuration files are the same, then current config should be treated as a dependency config if the previous config was also a dependency config.
	// Otherwise the current config is always a dependency config if the file path is different than the previous.
	cfgOpts.isDependency = cfgOpts.isDependency || path != cfgOpts.file
	cfgOpts.file = path
	cfgOpts.selection = d.Names
	cfgOpts.isRemote = isRemoteCfg
	depConfigs, _, err := getConfigs(ctx, cfgOpts, opts, r)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	return depConfigs, nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to a1189de023)

Solutions

1. Check permissions: ls -l <path> and the parent directories; fix with chmod/chown or run as a user with access
2. Confirm the path is accessible from the environment skaffold runs in (container user, mount is mounted)
3. Re-run to rule out a transient I/O error
4. If the file is actually missing, fix the path so the correct not-found error path applies instead

Example fix

// before
requires:
  - path: /secure/configs/skaffold.yaml   # 0600 root-owned
// after
chmod 644 /secure/configs/skaffold.yaml
# or copy it into the repo
requires:
  - path: ./configs/skaffold.yaml

for p in $(yq '.requires[].path' skaffold.yaml); do
  [ -r "$p" ] || echo "unreadable dependency: $p"
done

When it happens

Trigger: processEachDependency stats a local dependency path that yields a non-ErrNotExist error: permission denied on the file or a parent directory, an I/O error, path too long, or the path being a broken special file.

Common situations: A dependency skaffold.yaml owned by another user with 0600 permissions; read-protected parent directories in multi-module repos; NFS/USB mount dropped; running skaffold in a container as a different UID.

Related errors

• writing %q to %q: %w
• reading .dockerignore: %w
• walking workspace: %w
• unable to stat file %q: %w
• failed to create directory: %v

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/skaffold@a1189de023 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ac5ee239ab26de2c. Report an issue: GitHub.