ahmetb/kubectx · error

no previous context found

Error message

no previous context found

What it means

Guard error in swapContext: readLastContext returned an empty value, meaning the previous-context state file is missing, empty, or has never been written. `kubectx -s` (swap) can only work after at least one prior `kubectx <NAME>` switch recorded the previous context.

Source

Thrown at cmd/kubectx/switch.go:101

		if err := writeLastContext(prevCtxFile, prev); err != nil {
			return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to save previous context name: %w", err)
		}
	}
	return name, nil
}

// swapContext switches to previously switch context.
func swapContext() (string, error) {
	prevCtxFile, err := kubectxPrevCtxFile()
	if err != nil {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to determine state file: %w", err)
	}
	prev, err := readLastContext(prevCtxFile)
	if err != nil {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to read previous context file: %w", err)
	}
	if prev == "" {
		return "", errors.New("no previous context found")
	}
	return switchContext(prev)
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 12ad6fb22e)

Solutions

1. Switch to a context with `kubectx <NAME>` first; afterwards `kubectx -s` can swap back
2. Check that the cache file (~/.cache/kubectx/kubectx or XDG_CACHE_HOME) was not deleted

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cmd/kubectx/switch.go:101 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/45f69f7253593689. Report an issue: GitHub.