JuliusBrussee/caveman · error

public_keys must be an array

Error message

public_keys must be an array

What it means

When public_keys is present on a bundle it must be an array of key objects. decodeUniqueKeyring iterates it with .entries(), so an object, string, or number throws immediately with "public_keys must be an array".

Source

Thrown at packages/cli/src/index.ts:17415

  return { info, raw, key: ed25519PublicKey(raw) };
}

function decodeUniqueKeyring(infos: ReceiptPublicKey[], label: string): Map<string, DecodedReceiptKey> {
  const keys = new Map<string, DecodedReceiptKey>();
  for (const [index, info] of infos.entries()) {
    const decoded = decodeReceiptKey(info, `${label}[${index}]`);
    if (keys.has(decoded.info.key_id)) throw new Error(`${label} contains duplicate key_id ${decoded.info.key_id}`);
    keys.set(decoded.info.key_id, decoded);
  }
  return keys;
}

function embeddedReceiptKeys(bundle: ReceiptBundle): { current: DecodedReceiptKey; keys: Map<string, DecodedReceiptKey> } {
  if (bundle.schema !== RECEIPT_BUNDLE_V1 && bundle.schema !== RECEIPT_BUNDLE_V2) throw new Error(`unsupported bundle schema ${String(bundle.schema)}`);
  if (bundle.verification_coverage !== undefined && bundle.verification_coverage !== INCLUDED_RECEIPTS_ONLY) throw new Error(`unsupported unsigned verification coverage ${String(bundle.verification_coverage)}`);
  if (bundle.completeness_attested === true) throw new Error("bundle completeness cannot be attested by unsigned export metadata");
  const current = decodeReceiptKey(bundle.public_key, "public_key");
  if (bundle.public_keys !== undefined && !Array.isArray(bundle.public_keys)) throw new Error("public_keys must be an array");
  if (bundle.schema === RECEIPT_BUNDLE_V2 && (!Array.isArray(bundle.public_keys) || bundle.public_keys.length === 0)) throw new Error("v2 bundle requires public_keys");
  const keys = decodeUniqueKeyring(bundle.public_keys ?? [], "public_keys");
  const currentInRing = keys.get(current.info.key_id);
  if (currentInRing && !currentInRing.raw.equals(current.raw)) throw new Error(`public_key conflicts with public_keys entry ${current.info.key_id}`);
  if (bundle.schema === RECEIPT_BUNDLE_V2 && !currentInRing) throw new Error("v2 public_keys must include public_key");
  if (!currentInRing) keys.set(current.info.key_id, current);
  return { current, keys };
}

async function pinnedReceiptKeys(file: string, current: DecodedReceiptKey): Promise<{ keys: Map<string, DecodedReceiptKey>; trust: string }> {
  const source = (await readFile(file, "utf8")).trim();
  if (!source.startsWith("{")) {
    const pinned = decodeReceiptKey({ ...current.info, key: source }, "--pubkey");
    if (!pinned.raw.equals(current.raw)) throw new Error("bundle public key does not match the published --pubkey");
    return { keys: new Map([[current.info.key_id, pinned]]), trust: "pinned_public_key" };
  }
  let parsed: { public_key?: ReceiptPublicKey; public_keys?: ReceiptPublicKey[] };
  try { parsed = JSON.parse(source); } catch { throw new Error("--pubkey JSON is malformed"); }

View on GitHub (pinned to 5184b3d11a)

Solutions

1. Make public_keys an array of {key_id, alg, key} objects
2. Regenerate the bundle with the official export command rather than transforming it by hand
3. Validate the shape with Array.isArray before verifying

Example fix

// before
"public_keys": { "k1": { "alg": "Ed25519", "key": "AAA..." } }

// after
"public_keys": [ { "key_id": "k1", "alg": "Ed25519", "key": "AAA..." } ]

if (bundle.public_keys !== undefined && !Array.isArray(bundle.public_keys)) {
  throw new Error("public_keys must be an array of key objects");
}

function isKeyringArray(v: unknown): v is { key_id: string; alg: string; key: string }[] {
  return Array.isArray(v) && v.every((k) =>
    !!k && typeof k === "object" && typeof (k as any).key_id === "string" && typeof (k as any).key === "string");
}

try { execSync(`caveman receipts verify ${bundle}`); }
catch (e) {
  if (/public_keys must be an array/.test(String((e as Error).message))) fail("bundle keyring is not a JSON array");
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: bundle.public_keys is a dictionary keyed by key_id (e.g. {"k1": {...}}), a comma-separated string, or null-ish non-array, and the bundle reaches embeddedReceiptKeys.

Common situations: A custom serializer emits maps instead of lists; hand-merged JSON reshapes the array into an object; converting between YAML anchor styles and JSON.

Related errors

• ${label} key_id is required
• ${label} key is required
• ${label} contains duplicate key_id ${decoded.info.key_id}
• v2 bundle requires public_keys
• v2 public_keys must include public_key

AI-assisted analysis of JuliusBrussee/caveman@5184b3d11a (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c05d8b15c253a967. Report an issue: GitHub.