ahmetb/kubectx · error

you are in a locked single-context shell ("%s"), use 'exit'

Error message

you are in a locked single-context shell ("%s"), use 'exit' to leave

What it means

Guard error in checkIsolatedMode: the isolated-shell env var is set and the kubeconfig parsed; the guard returns this message naming the currently locked context (cur), refusing the requested operation because kubectx must not change contexts while a scoped single-context shell is active.

Source

Thrown at cmd/kubectx/isolated_shell_guard.go:23

	"os"

	"github.com/ahmetb/kubectx/internal/env"
	"github.com/ahmetb/kubectx/internal/kubeconfig"
)

func checkIsolatedMode() error {
	if os.Getenv(env.EnvIsolatedShell) != "1" {
		return nil
	}

	kc := new(kubeconfig.Kubeconfig).WithLoader(kubeconfig.DefaultLoader)
	defer kc.Close()
	if err := kc.Parse(); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("you are in a locked single-context shell, use 'exit' to leave")
	}

	cur, _ := kc.GetCurrentContext()
	return fmt.Errorf("you are in a locked single-context shell (\"%s\"), use 'exit' to leave", cur)
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 12ad6fb22e)

Solutions

1. Type 'exit' to leave the locked shell, then rerun the kubectx command

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cmd/kubectx/isolated_shell_guard.go:23 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/1188f96d1a96bce1. Report an issue: GitHub.