{"record":{"id":"6099cd805018e003","repo":"hashicorp/vagrant","slug":"there-was-a-problem-while-downloading-the-metadata","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"There was a problem while downloading the metadata for your box\nto check for updates. This is not an error, since it is usually due\nto temporary network problems. This is just a warning. The problem\nencountered was:\n\n%{message}\n\nIf you want to check for box updates, verify your network connection\nis valid and try again.","messagePattern":"There was a problem while downloading the metadata for your box\nto check for updates\\. This is not an error, since it is usually due\nto temporary network problems\\. This is just a warning\\. The problem\nencountered was:\n\n%(.+?)\n\nIf you want to check for box updates, verify your network connection\nis valid and try again\\.","errorType":"console","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"warning","filePath":"lib/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated.rb","lineNumber":66,"sourceCode":"            ca_path: env[:ca_path] || machine.config.vm.box_download_ca_path,\n            client_cert: env[:client_cert] ||\n                           machine.config.vm.box_download_client_cert,\n            insecure: !env[:insecure].nil? ?\n                        env[:insecure] : machine.config.vm.box_download_insecure,\n            disable_ssl_revoke_best_effort: env.fetch(:box_download_disable_ssl_revoke_best_effort,\n                                                      machine.config.vm.box_download_disable_ssl_revoke_best_effort),\n            box_extra_download_options: env[:box_extra_download_options] || machine.config.vm.box_extra_download_options,\n          }\n\n          env[:ui].output(I18n.t(\n            \"vagrant.box_outdated_checking_with_refresh\",\n            name: box.name,\n            version: box.version))\n          update = nil\n          begin\n            update = box.has_update?(constraints, download_options: download_options)\n          rescue Errors::BoxMetadataDownloadError => e\n            env[:ui].warn(I18n.t(\n              \"vagrant.box_outdated_metadata_download_error\",\n              message: e.extra_data[:message]))\n          rescue Errors::BoxMetadataMalformed  => e\n            @logger.warn(e.to_s)\n            env[:ui].warn(I18n.t(\"vagrant.box_malformed_continue_on_update\"))\n          rescue Errors::VagrantError => e\n            raise if !env[:box_outdated_ignore_errors]\n            env[:ui].detail(I18n.t(\n              \"vagrant.box_outdated_metadata_error_single\",\n              message: e.message))\n          end\n          env[:box_outdated] = update != nil\n          local_update = check_outdated_local(env)\n          if update && (local_update.nil? || (local_update.version < update[1].version))\n            env[:ui].warn(I18n.t(\n              \"vagrant.box_outdated_single\",\n              name: update[0].name,\n              provider: box.provider,","sourceCodeStart":48,"sourceCodeEnd":84,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/hashicorp/vagrant/blob/35f3160f4ad6edc3a9f3aa9570adfc1a4d73aaa5/lib/vagrant/action/builtin/box_check_outdated.rb#L48-L84","documentation":"During the box-outdated check (vagrant up/status/box outdated), Vagrant downloads the box's metadata to compare versions. When box.has_update? raises Errors::BoxMetadataDownloadError, the middleware does not abort: it warns with vagrant.box_outdated_metadata_download_error including the underlying message and continues with the current box. This entry is that warning, explicitly marked 'not an error' — a degraded check, not a failed operation.","triggerScenarios":"The box's metadata_url being unreachable while checking for updates: no network, DNS failure, proxy blocking vagrantcloud.com, rate limiting, or a broken metadata_url baked into the box package.","commonSituations":"Corporate proxies; offline/air-gapped development; transient Vagrant Cloud outages; boxes published with wrong metadata URLs; CI runners without egress.","solutions":["Verify connectivity to the box's metadata URL (curl -I it)","Retry later if the registry was transiently failing","If you own the box, fix and republish the metadata_url","Disable automatic checks with config.vm.box_check_update = false in the Vagrantfile"],"exampleFix":"# before\n# box_check_update defaults true; offline CI warns on every run\n\n# after\nVagrant.configure(\"2\") do |config|\n  config.vm.box_check_update = false\nend","handlingStrategy":"retry","validationCode":"# Vagrantfile: skip the check where network is known-absent\nVagrant.configure(\"2\") do |config|\n  config.vm.box_check_update = false\nend","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"begin\n  update = box.has_update?(constraints)\nrescue Vagrant::Errors::BoxMetadataDownloadError => e\n  # matches the middleware's own handling: warn and continue with current box\n  warn \"outdated check skipped: #{e.extra_data[:message]}\"\nend","preventionTips":["Disable box_check_update in offline/air-gapped environments","Whitelist vagrantcloud.com (and your box host) on corporate proxies","Run `vagrant box outdated` deliberately when network is good, instead of on every up"],"tags":["box","metadata","network","outdated-check","warning"],"backgroundTag":"metadata-download-failed","analyzedSha":"35f3160f4ad6edc3a9f3aa9570adfc1a4d73aaa5","analyzedAt":"2026-08-21T13:34:32.514Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-21T18:17:14.833Z"}