{"record":{"id":"60db80695697bb80","repo":"hyperledger/fabric","slug":"failed-to-marshal-installchaincodeargs","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"failed to marshal InstallChaincodeArgs","messagePattern":"failed to marshal InstallChaincodeArgs","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"internal/peer/lifecycle/chaincode/install.go","lineNumber":187,"sourceCode":"\n\ticr := &lb.InstallChaincodeResult{}\n\terr = proto.Unmarshal(proposalResponse.Response.Payload, icr)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn errors.Wrap(err, \"failed to unmarshal proposal response's response payload\")\n\t}\n\tlogger.Infof(\"Chaincode code package identifier: %s\", icr.PackageId)\n\n\treturn nil\n}\n\nfunc (i *Installer) createInstallProposal(pkgBytes []byte, creatorBytes []byte) (*pb.Proposal, error) {\n\tinstallChaincodeArgs := &lb.InstallChaincodeArgs{\n\t\tChaincodeInstallPackage: pkgBytes,\n\t}\n\n\tinstallChaincodeArgsBytes, err := proto.Marshal(installChaincodeArgs)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.Wrap(err, \"failed to marshal InstallChaincodeArgs\")\n\t}\n\n\tccInput := &pb.ChaincodeInput{Args: [][]byte{[]byte(\"InstallChaincode\"), installChaincodeArgsBytes}}\n\n\tcis := &pb.ChaincodeInvocationSpec{\n\t\tChaincodeSpec: &pb.ChaincodeSpec{\n\t\t\tChaincodeId: &pb.ChaincodeID{Name: lifecycleName},\n\t\t\tInput:       ccInput,\n\t\t},\n\t}\n\n\tproposal, _, err := protoutil.CreateProposalFromCIS(cb.HeaderType_ENDORSER_TRANSACTION, \"\", cis, creatorBytes)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.WithMessage(err, \"failed to create proposal for ChaincodeInvocationSpec\")\n\t}\n\n\treturn proposal, nil\n}","sourceCodeStart":169,"sourceCodeEnd":205,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/hyperledger/fabric/blob/2736b63f8fd5932511d56fe68b7039d15977f7f6/internal/peer/lifecycle/chaincode/install.go#L169-L205","documentation":"This error occurs in createInstallProposal when protobuf marshaling of the InstallChaincodeArgs message fails just before building the _lifecycle InstallChaincode invocation. proto.Marshal on a struct with a byte slice field essentially never fails, so this is a defensive wrap; a wrapped non-nil err would indicate an out-of-memory condition or a corrupted protobuf runtime state. If you see it, the failure is internal to the client binary, not your chaincode or network config.","triggerScenarios":"Running `peer lifecycle chaincode install <package>` and proto.Marshal(installChaincodeArgs) returns a non-nil error; practically this requires runtime/resource corruption (e.g. OOM aborting the marshal) since InstallChaincodeArgs contains only a deterministic []byte field.","commonSituations":"Seen almost exclusively in constrained environments (containers hitting memory limits), corrupted Hyperledger Fabric peer binaries, or version mismatches between the protobuf runtime and generated code after custom rebuilds.","solutions":["Retry the install command; the marshal step is deterministic so a transient resource failure is the most likely cause.","Check container/host memory (free -m, docker stats) and raise the peer CLI memory limit, then rerun the install.","Reinstall or rebuild the fabric peer binaries matching your fabric release (e.g. v2.x) to fix corrupted protobuf generated code.","If reproducible, inspect the wrapped inner error in the message after the colon; it names the actual marshal failure cause."],"exampleFix":"// before: cannot fix at call site\ninstallChaincodeArgsBytes, err := proto.Marshal(installChaincodeArgs)\nif err != nil {\n    return nil, errors.Wrap(err, \"failed to marshal InstallChaincodeArgs\")\n}\n// after: ensure valid package bytes were produced before marshaling\nif len(pkgBytes) == 0 {\n    return nil, errors.New(\"empty chaincode install package\")\n}\ninstallChaincodeArgsBytes, err := proto.Marshal(installChaincodeArgs)\nif err != nil {\n    return nil, errors.Wrap(err, \"failed to marshal InstallChaincodeArgs\")\n}","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"// No useful pre-call validation: marshal failure is runtime-internal.\n// Verify the CLI/network works at all first:\npeer lifecycle chaincode queryinstalled || echo \"peer binary may be corrupted\"","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"// shell\nif ! out=$(peer lifecycle chaincode install basic.tar.gz 2>&1); then\n  case \"$out\" in\n    *\"failed to marshal InstallChaincodeArgs\"*)\n      echo \"Peer CLI marshal failure (memory/corruption); retrying once...\"\n      peer lifecycle chaincode install basic.tar.gz ;;\n    *) echo \"$out\"; exit 1 ;;\n  esac\nfi","preventionTips":["Keep peer binaries and their protobuf generated code from the same fabric release.","Watch container memory limits for CLI-heavy operations.","Retry once on marshal-style failures before escalating.","Log the full wrapped error (inner cause follows the colon)."],"tags":["hyperledger-fabric","protobuf","chaincode-install","cli"],"backgroundTag":"protobuf-marshal-failed","analyzedSha":"2736b63f8fd5932511d56fe68b7039d15977f7f6","analyzedAt":"2026-09-04T08:52:36.465Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-04T08:52:36.465Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-08T10:18:20.063Z"}