ahmetb/kubectx · error

print error: %w

Error message

print error: %w

What it means

printer.Success failed to write the 'Switched to context' confirmation to stderr. The switch itself already succeeded and was saved; only the user-facing output write failed, typically because stderr is closed or the underlying writer errored.

Source

Thrown at cmd/kubectx/switch.go:46

	Target string // '-' for back and forth, or NAME
}

func (op SwitchOp) Run(_, stderr io.Writer) error {
	if err := checkIsolatedMode(); err != nil {
		return err
	}
	var newCtx string
	var err error
	if op.Target == "-" {
		newCtx, err = swapContext()
	} else {
		newCtx, err = switchContext(op.Target)
	}
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to switch context: %w", err)
	}
	if err = printer.Success(stderr, "Switched to context \"%s\".", printer.SuccessColor.Sprint(newCtx)); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("print error: %w", err)
	}
	return nil
}

// switchContext switches to specified context name.
func switchContext(name string) (string, error) {
	prevCtxFile, err := kubectxPrevCtxFile()
	if err != nil {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to determine state file: %w", err)
	}

	kc := new(kubeconfig.Kubeconfig).WithLoader(kubeconfig.DefaultLoader)
	defer kc.Close()
	if err := kc.Parse(); err != nil {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("kubeconfig error: %w", err)
	}

	prev, err := kc.GetCurrentContext()

View on GitHub (pinned to 12ad6fb22e)

Solutions

1. Check that stderr is not closed or redirected to an unwritable target
2. If scripting, ensure the stderr pipe (e.g. kubectx | fzf style pipelines) stays open for the duration
3. The context switch did apply — verify with kubectl config current-context

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cmd/kubectx/switch.go:46 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/5304b49a65625f6b. Report an issue: GitHub.