{"record":{"id":"85b126795aab3693","repo":"hyperledger/fabric","slug":"error-marshaling-header","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"error marshaling Header","messagePattern":"error marshaling Header","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"protoutil/proputils.go","lineNumber":186,"sourceCode":"\treturn capBytes, errors.Wrap(err, \"error marshaling ChaincodeActionPayload\")\n}\n\n// GetBytesProposalResponse gets proposal bytes response\nfunc GetBytesProposalResponse(pr *peer.ProposalResponse) ([]byte, error) {\n\tif pr == nil {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.New(\"error marshaling ProposalResponse: proto: Marshal called with nil\")\n\t}\n\trespBytes, err := proto.Marshal(pr)\n\treturn respBytes, errors.Wrap(err, \"error marshaling ProposalResponse\")\n}\n\n// GetBytesHeader get the bytes of Header from the message\nfunc GetBytesHeader(hdr *common.Header) ([]byte, error) {\n\tif hdr == nil {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.New(\"error marshaling Header: proto: Marshal called with nil\")\n\t}\n\tbytes, err := proto.Marshal(hdr)\n\treturn bytes, errors.Wrap(err, \"error marshaling Header\")\n}\n\n// GetBytesSignatureHeader get the bytes of SignatureHeader from the message\nfunc GetBytesSignatureHeader(hdr *common.SignatureHeader) ([]byte, error) {\n\tif hdr == nil {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.New(\"error marshaling SignatureHeader: proto: Marshal called with nil\")\n\t}\n\tbytes, err := proto.Marshal(hdr)\n\treturn bytes, errors.Wrap(err, \"error marshaling SignatureHeader\")\n}\n\n// GetBytesTransaction get the bytes of Transaction from the message\nfunc GetBytesTransaction(tx *peer.Transaction) ([]byte, error) {\n\tif tx == nil {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.New(\"error marshaling Transaction: proto: Marshal called with nil\")\n\t}\n\tbytes, err := proto.Marshal(tx)\n\treturn bytes, errors.Wrap(err, \"error unmarshalling Transaction\")","sourceCodeStart":168,"sourceCodeEnd":204,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/hyperledger/fabric/blob/2736b63f8fd5932511d56fe68b7039d15977f7f6/protoutil/proputils.go#L168-L204","documentation":"GetBytesHeader guard: the Header argument is nil, so there is nothing to marshal. The companion error text mimics protobuf's 'Marshal called with nil'; callers passing an uninitialized Header get this immediate rejection instead of a protobuf panic.","triggerScenarios":"proto.Marshal failing on a populated *common.Header — usually caused by an inconsistent generated-code/proto-runtime pair, or a Header decoded from invalid/corrupt bytes.","commonSituations":"Fabric dependency version skew after upgrades (fabric-protos-go vs gogo/protobuf), envelopes parsed from untrusted or truncated sources.","solutions":["Inspect the root cause with errors.Cause(err).","Align fabric-protos-go and proto runtime versions in go.mod and rebuild.","Rebuild the Header using protoutil helpers from fresh ChannelHeader/SignatureHeader values.","If the pointer was actually nil, apply the nil guard from the 'Marshal called with nil' variant."],"exampleFix":"// before\nhdrBytes, err := protoutil.GetBytesHeader(hdr)\nif err != nil {\n    return err\n}\n// after\nhdrBytes, err := protoutil.GetBytesHeader(hdr)\nif err != nil {\n    return errors.Wrap(errors.Cause(err), \"cannot serialize Header\")\n}","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"if hdr == nil {\n    return nil, errors.New(\"common.Header is nil\")\n}","typeGuard":"func isSerializableHeader(hdr *common.Header) bool {\n    return hdr != nil\n}","tryCatchPattern":"hdrBytes, err := protoutil.GetBytesHeader(hdr)\nif err != nil {\n    return nil, errors.Wrap(errors.Cause(err), \"Header serialization failed\")\n}","preventionTips":["Always log errors.Cause(err) alongside the wrapped message for proto failures.","Rebuild the codebase after any protobuf dependency upgrade to avoid codegen/runtime skew.","Extract headers via protoutil extraction helpers and validate before serialization."],"tags":["grpc","protobuf","serialization","hyperledger-fabric"],"backgroundTag":"proto-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"}