{"record":{"id":"c38cdce69c0ed21d","repo":"kubernetes/kops","slug":"error-creating-pod-log-dumper-w","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"error creating pod log dumper: %w","messagePattern":"error creating pod log dumper: %w","errorType":"error_code","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"cmd/kops/toolbox_dump.go","lineNumber":288,"sourceCode":"\t\t\t})\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tif err := dumper.DumpAllNodes(ctx, nodes, options.MaxNodes, cloudResources); err != nil {\n\t\t\tklog.Warningf(\"error dumping nodes: %v\", err)\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tif kubeConfig != nil && options.K8sResources {\n\t\t\tdumper, err := dump.NewResourceDumper(kubeConfig, options.Output, options.Dir)\n\t\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error creating resource dumper: %w\", err)\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\tif err := dumper.DumpResources(ctx); err != nil {\n\t\t\t\tklog.Warningf(\"error dumping resources: %v\", err)\n\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\tlogDumper, err := dump.NewPodLogDumper(kubeConfig, options.Dir)\n\t\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error creating pod log dumper: %w\", err)\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\tif err := logDumper.DumpLogs(ctx); err != nil {\n\t\t\t\tklog.Warningf(\"error dumping pod logs: %v\", err)\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t}\n\n\tif cloudResources != nil {\n\t\tswitch options.Output {\n\t\tcase OutputYaml:\n\t\t\tb, err := kops.ToRawYaml(cloudResources)\n\t\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error marshaling yaml: %v\", err)\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t_, err = out.Write(b)\n\t\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error writing to stdout: %v\", err)\n\t\t\t}","sourceCodeStart":270,"sourceCodeEnd":306,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kops/blob/4c8573c808a73d578c5eadc86d410646ea0b0d73/cmd/kops/toolbox_dump.go#L270-L306","documentation":"RunToolboxDump (`kops toolbox dump`) collects cluster state and, when dumping a running cluster, creates a PodLogDumper to fetch pod logs via the cluster kubeconfig. This error wraps any failure from dump.NewPodLogDumper — typically an invalid or unreadable kubeconfig path, or failure to build a Kubernetes client from it. The dump command aborts because logs are considered part of the requested dump.","triggerScenarios":"Running `kops toolbox dump` against a cluster when the resolved kubeconfig (options.KubeConfig / --kubeconfig) is missing, malformed, points to an unreachable API server during client construction, or the dump directory option is invalid.","commonSituations":"KUBECONFIG env var points at a stale file; cluster was deleted so the admin kubeconfig no longer authenticates; user passed --kubeconfig with a typo; running outside the cluster context where the admin.conf exists.","solutions":["Verify the kubeconfig exists and is valid: kubectl --kubeconfig <path> get nodes","Re-export the cluster admin kubeconfig (kops export kubecfg <cluster>) and retry","Confirm the cluster API server is reachable from your machine","Check the --dir target is writable/valid"],"exampleFix":"// before\nlogDumper, err := dump.NewPodLogDumper(kubeConfig, options.Dir)\nif err != nil {\n\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error creating pod log dumper: %w\", err)\n}\n// after — fail fast with a clear hint before dumping\nif _, err := os.Stat(kubeConfig); err != nil {\n\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"kubeconfig %q not found; run 'kops export kubecfg': %w\", kubeConfig, err)\n}\nlogDumper, err := dump.NewPodLogDumper(kubeConfig, options.Dir)\nif err != nil {\n\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error creating pod log dumper: %w\", err)\n}","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"if _, err := os.Stat(kubeconfigPath); err != nil {\n\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"kubeconfig %q unreadable: %w\", kubeconfigPath, err)\n}\nif err := clientcmd.LoadFromFile(kubeconfigPath); err != nil {\n\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"kubeconfig %q invalid: %w\", kubeconfigPath, err)\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"if _, err := dump.NewPodLogDumper(kubeConfig, dir); err != nil {\n\tvar pe *fs.PathError\n\tif errors.As(err, &pe) {\n\t\t// kubeconfig path problem: hint at 'kops export kubecfg'\n\t}\n\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error creating pod log dumper: %w\", err)\n}","preventionTips":["Always run `kops export kubecfg <cluster>` before toolbox dump","Validate kubeconfig with kubectl before running kops toolbox commands","Pass --kubeconfig explicitly in scripts instead of relying on KUBECONFIG env","Check cluster is running before dumping"],"tags":["cli","kubernetes","kubeconfig","dump"],"backgroundTag":"invalid-kubeconfig","analyzedSha":"4c8573c808a73d578c5eadc86d410646ea0b0d73","analyzedAt":"2026-09-05T04:13:19.212Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-05T04:13:19.212Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-12T07:17:12.445Z"}