ahmetb/kubectx · error

context with name %q not found (errors in files: %w)

Error message

context with name %q not found (errors in files: %w)

What it means

When no file contains the requested context, contextNodeWithFileIndex returns "context with name %q not found (errors in files: %w)" if any per-file errors were collected (joined with errors.Join), otherwise the plain not-found error. The '(errors in files: ...)' variant tells you some kubeconfig files could not even be searched, so absence of the context is not conclusive.

Source

Thrown at internal/kubeconfig/contexts.go:60

func (k *Kubeconfig) contextNodeWithFileIndex(name string) (*yaml.RNode, int, error) {
	var fileErrors []error
	for i := range k.files {
		contexts, err := contextsNodeOf(&k.files[i])
		if err != nil {
			fileErrors = append(fileErrors, fmt.Errorf("file %d: %w", i, err))
			continue
		}
		context, err := contexts.Pipe(yaml.Lookup("[name=" + name + "]"))
		if err != nil {
			fileErrors = append(fileErrors, fmt.Errorf("file %d lookup: %w", i, err))
			continue
		}
		if context != nil {
			return context, i, nil
		}
	}
	if len(fileErrors) > 0 {
		return nil, -1, fmt.Errorf("context with name %q not found (errors in files: %w)",
			name, errors.Join(fileErrors...))
	}
	return nil, -1, fmt.Errorf("context with name %q not found", name)
}

func (k *Kubeconfig) contextNode(name string) (*yaml.RNode, error) {
	node, _, err := k.contextNodeWithFileIndex(name)
	return node, err
}

func (k *Kubeconfig) ContextNames() ([]string, error) {
	seen := make(map[string]bool)
	var names []string

	for i := range k.files {
		contexts, err := k.files[i].config.Pipe(yaml.Get("contexts"))
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to get contexts: %w", err)

View on GitHub (pinned to 12ad6fb22e)

Solutions

1. List available contexts (kubectl config get-contexts) and verify the exact spelling/case of the name.
2. Fix the per-file errors shown in the joined message (see the embedded 'file %d' details) so all files are searched.
3. Retry the operation once every KUBECONFIG file parses cleanly.
4. If the context truly no longer exists, remove references to it instead of deleting/renaming.

Example fix

// before: name mismatch plus corrupt extra file
kc.DeleteContextEntry("prod-ctx-1") // not found
// after: use the exact name from kubectl config get-contexts
kc.DeleteContextEntry("prod-context")

// Shell: confirm the context exists in a fully-parsable KUBECONFIG first
kubectl config get-contexts -o name | grep -qx "$CTX" || { echo "context $CTX not found"; exit 1; }

if err := kc.DeleteContextEntry(name); err != nil {
	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "not found (errors in files") {
		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "Fix the per-file errors listed before trusting the not-found result.")
	}
	return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: DeleteContextEntry, ModifyContextName, or contextNode called with a context name that matches no entry in any k.files, while at least one file also failed parsing or lookup (errors 126/127 collected in fileErrors).

Common situations: Deleting or renaming a context whose name was mistyped, with an additional corrupt file in KUBECONFIG masking the real entry; stale context names after cluster teardown.

Related errors

• failed to get current context: %w
• failed to clear namespace: %w
• file %d: %w
• context with name %q not found
• kubeconfig error: %w

AI-assisted analysis of ahmetb/kubectx@12ad6fb22e (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ae1abad4125f8648. Report an issue: GitHub.