{"record":{"id":"0b2db8c3fc248a1c","repo":"micro/go-micro","slug":"errencodingtoken","errorCode":"ErrEncodingToken","errorMessage":"error encoding the token","messagePattern":"error encoding the token","errorType":"error_code","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"auth/jwt/token/token.go","lineNumber":14,"sourceCode":"package token\n\nimport (\n\t\"errors\"\n\t\"time\"\n\n\t\"go-micro.dev/v6/auth\"\n)\n\nvar (\n\t// ErrNotFound is returned when a token cannot be found.\n\tErrNotFound = errors.New(\"token not found\")\n\t// ErrEncodingToken is returned when the service encounters an error during encoding.\n\tErrEncodingToken = errors.New(\"error encoding the token\")\n\t// ErrInvalidToken is returned when the token provided is not valid.\n\tErrInvalidToken = errors.New(\"invalid token provided\")\n)\n\n// Provider generates and inspects tokens.\ntype Provider interface {\n\tGenerate(account *auth.Account, opts ...GenerateOption) (*Token, error)\n\tInspect(token string) (*auth.Account, error)\n\tString() string\n}\n\ntype Token struct {\n\t// The actual token\n\tToken string `json:\"token\"`\n\t// Time of token creation\n\tCreated time.Time `json:\"created\"`\n\t// Time of token expiry\n\tExpiry time.Time `json:\"expiry\"`","sourceCodeStart":1,"sourceCodeEnd":32,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/micro/go-micro/blob/24529f140421a11a33b6999ab7944f2021cfd69c/auth/jwt/token/token.go#L1-L32","documentation":"ErrEncodingToken (message \"error encoding the token\") is returned by Provider.Generate in auth/jwt/token when the token cannot be serialized/encoded into a JWT. The declared sentinel is returned whenever the underlying encode step fails inside Generate, so callers can distinguish encoding failure from lookup or inspect errors.","triggerScenarios":"Provider.Generate is called and the internal encoding (e.g. JWT claims serialization or signing) returns an error, most commonly an invalid or missing signing key configured on the provider.","commonSituations":"JWT_PRIVATE_KEY / signing key env var unset or malformed so the encoder is misconfigured; key file unreadable at runtime; using a key algorithm unsupported by the encoding path after a library version change.","solutions":["Check the provider's key configuration (private key env var/option) is present and valid PEM before calling Generate","Validate the key can parse/sign by running a minimal Generate in a startup health check","Ensure the account/claims being encoded contain only serializable values","Pin/upgrade the jwt dependency if an algorithm incompatibility was introduced"],"exampleFix":"// before: provider built with an empty private key, Generate fails with ErrEncodingToken\np := token.NewProvider() // no key configured\np.Generate(account)\n// after: configure a valid key up front and fail fast at startup\np := token.NewProvider(token.WithPrivateKey(signingKey))\nif _, err := p.Generate(account); err != nil { log.Fatalf(\"token signing misconfigured: %v\", err) }","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"// validate signing key at startup before any Generate call\nfunc validateKey(pem string) error {\n    if strings.TrimSpace(pem) == \"\" { return errors.New(\"JWT signing key is empty\") }\n    if !strings.Contains(pem, \"-----BEGIN\") { return errors.New(\"JWT signing key is not PEM encoded\") }\n    return nil\n}\nif err := validateKey(os.Getenv(\"JWT_PRIVATE_KEY\")); err != nil { log.Fatal(err) }","typeGuard":"func isEncodingError(err error) bool {\n    return errors.Is(err, token.ErrEncodingToken)\n}","tryCatchPattern":"tok, err := provider.Generate(account)\nif err != nil {\n    if errors.Is(err, token.ErrEncodingToken) {\n        return fmt.Errorf(\"token encoder misconfigured, check signing key: %w\", err)\n    }\n    return err\n}","preventionTips":["Fail fast at startup if signing key env vars are missing/unparseable","Health-check token generation during service readiness probes","Keep the JWT library version consistent between issuer and verifier"],"tags":["jwt","encoding","signing"],"backgroundTag":"jwt-token-encoding-failed","analyzedSha":"24529f140421a11a33b6999ab7944f2021cfd69c","analyzedAt":"2026-09-01T02:52:24.923Z","contentChangedAt":null,"schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-08T05:18:18.240Z"}