GoogleContainerTools/skaffold · warning

retrieving home directory: %w

Error message

retrieving home directory: %w

What it means

ExportMetrics (invoked at shutdown via ShutdownAndFlush) needs the user's home directory to locate the metrics file under ~/.skaffold. If homedir.Dir() fails (no HOME set, user lookup fails), the error "retrieving home directory: %w" is returned. Metrics export is skipped and the wrapped OS/user-lookup error is surfaced.

Source

Thrown at pkg/skaffold/instrumentation/export.go:61

	semconv "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/semconv/v1.17.0"
	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace"
	"google.golang.org/api/option"

	"github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/v2/fs"
	"github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/v2/pkg/skaffold/constants"
	"github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/v2/pkg/skaffold/output/log"
	"github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/v2/pkg/skaffold/user"
	"github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/v2/proto/v1"
)

func ExportMetrics(exitCode int) error {
	if !ShouldExportMetrics || meter.Command == "" {
		log.Entry(context.TODO()).Debug("exporting metrics disabled")
		return nil
	}
	home, err := homedir.Dir()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("retrieving home directory: %w", err)
	}
	meter.ExitCode = exitCode
	meter.Duration = time.Since(meter.StartTime)
	return exportMetrics(context.Background(),
		filepath.Join(home, constants.DefaultSkaffoldDir, constants.DefaultMetricFile),
		meter)
}

func exportMetrics(ctx context.Context, filename string, meter skaffoldMeter) error {
	log.Entry(ctx).Debug("exporting metrics")
	exp, err := initExporter()
	if exp == nil {
		return err
	}
	res := resource.NewWithAttributes(
		semconv.SchemaURL,
		semconv.ServiceName("skaffold"),
		semconv.ServiceVersion(meter.Version),

View on GitHub (pinned to a1189de023)

Solutions

1. Set the HOME environment variable: `export HOME=/home/<user>` before running skaffold.
2. Disable metrics export with `skaffold config set --global collect-metrics false` to skip the code path.
3. Ensure the configured user exists in /etc/passwd when running as a service.

Example fix

// before
skaffold run  # HOME unset in container
// after
ENV HOME=/root
RUN skaffold config set --global collect-metrics false

if os.Getenv("HOME") == "" {
    log.Println("HOME is unset; metrics export will fail")
}

if err := skaffoldCmd.Run(); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "retrieving home directory") {
        // non-fatal: set HOME and retry or ignore telemetry failure
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any skaffold command exit with metrics enabled (ShouldExportMetrics and meter.Command set) while the process has no resolvable home directory.

Common situations: Running skaffold in a container/service account with HOME unset, running under systemd or schedulers with a minimal environment, or a deleted home directory.

Related errors

• retrieving home directory: %w
• unable to lookup minikube executable. Please add it to PATH
• getting minikube executable: %w
• unable to find minikube executable. File not found %s
• retrieving home directory: %w

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/skaffold@a1189de023 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/112e4a8dae539516. Report an issue: GitHub.