{"record":{"id":"9bcf633504850b71","repo":"getsops/sops","slug":"could-not-unmarshal-config-file-s","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Could not unmarshal config file: %s","messagePattern":"Could not unmarshal config file: (.+?)","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"config/config.go","lineNumber":273,"sourceCode":"\tcase []string:\n\t\treturn v, nil\n\tdefault:\n\t\treturn nil, fmt.Errorf(\"invalid %s key configuration: expected string, []string, or nil, got %T\", fieldName, field)\n\t}\n}\n\nfunc NewStoresConfig() *StoresConfig {\n\tstoresConfig := &StoresConfig{}\n\tstoresConfig.JSON.Indent = -1\n\tstoresConfig.JSONBinary.Indent = -1\n\treturn storesConfig\n}\n\n// Load loads a sops config file into a temporary struct\nfunc (f *configFile) load(bytes []byte) error {\n\terr := yaml.Unmarshal(bytes, f)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"Could not unmarshal config file: %s\", err)\n\t}\n\treturn nil\n}\n\n// Config is the configuration for a given SOPS file\ntype Config struct {\n\tKeyGroups               []sops.KeyGroup\n\tShamirThreshold         int\n\tUnencryptedSuffix       string\n\tEncryptedSuffix         string\n\tUnencryptedRegex        string\n\tEncryptedRegex          string\n\tUnencryptedCommentRegex string\n\tEncryptedCommentRegex   string\n\tMACOnlyEncrypted        bool\n\tDestination             publish.Destination\n\tOmitExtensions          bool\n}","sourceCodeStart":255,"sourceCodeEnd":291,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/getsops/sops/blob/13442bb98183887d7a9ac09ec8ab0564673a59d8/config/config.go#L255-L291","documentation":"configFile.load unmarshals the raw bytes of the sops config file with yaml.Unmarshal into the internal configFile struct; any YAML syntax error or type mismatch is wrapped in this error. The message includes the underlying yaml error text with position details.","triggerScenarios":"Calling load (indirectly via loadConfigFile/parseConfigFile) on a `.sops.yaml` containing invalid YAML: bad indentation, tabs, unclosed quotes, duplicate keys, or a field of the wrong type (e.g. creation_rules as a string instead of a list).","commonSituations":"Hand-editing .sops.yaml with tab indentation, missing space after a colon (`creation_rules:- ...`), copy-paste artifacts, forgetting to quote strings containing special characters like `*` or `:`.","solutions":["Fix the YAML syntax at the line/column reported in the wrapped error text","Replace tabs with spaces and ensure consistent indentation","Quote strings containing special YAML characters (`:*{[],#&`)","Validate the file with a YAML linter or `sops edit`/dry-run before committing"],"exampleFix":"# before\ncreation_rules:\n\t- path_regex: *.png   # tab + unquoted glob: invalid YAML\n# after\ncreation_rules:\n  - path_regex: \".*\\.png\"","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"// lint the config before running sops\nimport \"gopkg.in/yaml.v3\"\nfunc yamlOK(b []byte) bool {\n\tvar v map[string]interface{}\n\treturn yaml.Unmarshal(b, &v) == nil\n}\n// usage: if !yamlOK(configBytes) { run 'yamllint .sops.yaml' and fix }","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"cfg, err := config.LoadCreationRuleForFile(\".sops.yaml\", \"secrets.yaml\", time.Now())\nif err != nil && strings.HasPrefix(err.Error(), \"Could not unmarshal config file\") {\n\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"invalid YAML in .sops.yaml — fix syntax at the reported line: %w\", err)\n}","preventionTips":["Never use tabs in YAML; indent with spaces only","Quote strings containing : * { [ , # characters","Run yamllint (or `python -c 'import yaml,sys; yaml.safe_load(open(\".sops.yaml\"))'`) in CI on .sops.yaml","Prefer editing .sops.yaml via `sops` or a vetted template rather than freehand edits"],"tags":["yaml","configuration","parsing","sops"],"backgroundTag":"yaml-parse-error","analyzedSha":"13442bb98183887d7a9ac09ec8ab0564673a59d8","analyzedAt":"2026-09-01T03:53:00.447Z","contentChangedAt":null,"schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-08T10:18:20.063Z"}