VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics · error

cannot read shared credentials for profile %q: %w

Error message

cannot read shared credentials for profile %q: %w

What it means

Fires in getAPICredentials when readSharedCredentials fails for credProfile (either cfg.profile or its resolved source_profile). The wrapped error typically indicates ~/.aws/credentials is missing, unreadable, or has no section for the profile.

Source

Thrown at lib/awsapi/config.go:260

		acNew = ac
	case len(cfg.profile) > 0:
		sourceProfile, profileRoleARN, err := readAWSConfigFile(cfg.profile)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot read config file for profile %q: %w", cfg.profile, err)
		}
		credProfile := cfg.profile
		if sourceProfile != "" {
			if sourceProfile == cfg.profile {
				return nil, fmt.Errorf("source_profile for %q points to itself", cfg.profile)
			}
			credProfile = sourceProfile
		}
		if roleARN == "" {
			roleARN = profileRoleARN
		}
		ac, err := readSharedCredentials(credProfile)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot read shared credentials for profile %q: %w", credProfile, err)
		}
		if ac == nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("missing credentials for profile %q", credProfile)
		}
		acNew = ac
	default:
		// we need instance credentials if we do not have access keys
		ac, err := getInstanceRoleCredentials(cfg.client)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot obtain instance role credentials: %w", err)
		}
		acNew = ac
	}
	// read credentials from sts api, if role_arn is defined
	if len(roleARN) > 0 {
		ac, err := cfg.getRoleARNCredentials(acNew, roleARN)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot get credentials for role_arn %q: %w", roleARN, err)

View on GitHub (pinned to 5079fb58f1)

Solutions

1. Add a [<profile>] section with aws_access_key_id and aws_secret_access_key to the shared credentials file
2. Verify AWS_SHARED_CREDENTIALS_FILE points to the correct file
3. Check file permissions allow reading by the process user

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/awsapi/config.go:260 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics@5079fb58f1 (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/02e4c196eb84e17d. Report an issue: GitHub.