ahmetb/kubectx · error

failed to read current-context: %w

Error message

failed to read current-context: %w

What it means

In GetCurrentContext, the kyaml read of the current-context field failed for a file. Current-context is expected as a scalar string; a non-scalar or otherwise malformed value triggers this. Not-found is not an error — iteration continues to the next file.

Source

Thrown at internal/kubeconfig/currentcontext.go:29

// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.

package kubeconfig

import (
	"fmt"

	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml/yaml"
)

// GetCurrentContext returns "current-context" value from the first file
// that has a non-empty current-context, or returns ("", nil) if not found.
func (k *Kubeconfig) GetCurrentContext() (string, error) {
	for _, fe := range k.files {
		v, err := fe.config.Pipe(yaml.Get("current-context"))
		if err != nil {
			return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to read current-context: %w", err)
		}
		if s := yaml.GetValue(v); s != "" {
			return s, nil
		}
	}
	return "", nil
}

// UnsetCurrentContext clears the current-context field in the first file.
func (k *Kubeconfig) UnsetCurrentContext() error {
	if len(k.files) == 0 {
		return errNoFiles
	}
	return k.files[0].config.PipeE(yaml.SetField("current-context", yaml.NewStringRNode("")))
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 12ad6fb22e)

Solutions

1. Inspect current-context in each kubeconfig file; fix non-string values
2. Use kubectl config current-context to isolate the offending file
3. Repair the YAML and retry the operation

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at internal/kubeconfig/currentcontext.go:29 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of ahmetb/kubectx@12ad6fb22e (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4783fe9b89de52d1. Report an issue: GitHub.