{"record":{"id":"c622b675f72434b6","repo":"getsops/sops","slug":"error-while-serializing-metadata-w","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Error while serializing metadata: %w","messagePattern":"Error while serializing metadata: %w","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"stores/metadata.go","lineNumber":272,"sourceCode":"\terr = d.Decode(md)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, err\n\t}\n\tmetadata, err := goToSops(mdMap)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, err\n\t}\n\tif tb, ok := metadata.(sops.TreeBranch); ok {\n\t\treturn tb, nil\n\t}\n\treturn nil, fmt.Errorf(\"Internal error: unexpected metadata conversion result %T\", metadata)\n}\n\n// SerializeMetadata embeds the metadata of `data` into its tree branches.\nfunc SerializeMetadata(data sops.Tree, opts MetadataOpts) (sops.TreeBranches, error) {\n\tmd, err := metadataToTreeBranch(metadataFromInternal(data.Metadata))\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, fmt.Errorf(\"Error while serializing metadata: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\tif opts.Flatten != MetadataFlattenNone {\n\t\tvar prefix string\n\t\tif opts.Flatten == MetadataFlattenFull {\n\t\t\tprefix = SopsPrefix\n\t\t}\n\t\tmd, err = flattenTreeBranch(md, prefix)\n\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\treturn nil, fmt.Errorf(\"Error while flattening metadata: %w\", err)\n\t\t}\n\t\tif opts.EscapeNewlines {\n\t\t\tfor i, item := range md {\n\t\t\t\tif value, ok := item.Value.(string); ok {\n\t\t\t\t\tmd[i] = sops.TreeItem{\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKey:   item.Key,\n\t\t\t\t\t\tValue: strings.ReplaceAll(value, \"\\n\", \"\\\\n\"),\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t}","sourceCodeStart":254,"sourceCodeEnd":290,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/getsops/sops/blob/13442bb98183887d7a9ac09ec8ab0564673a59d8/stores/metadata.go#L254-L290","documentation":"Wrapper emitted by SerializeMetadata when converting the tree's Metadata into an embeddable tree branch (metadataToTreeBranch) fails. The underlying cause is typically the metadata conversion producing an invalid structure (see related internal error) or missing required metadata fields.","triggerScenarios":"Calling SerializeMetadata or EmitEncryptedFile with a sops.Tree whose Metadata cannot be converted to a tree branch — e.g. hand-built Metadata missing key groups, shards, or MAC, or an inconsistent internal representation.","commonSituations":"Custom encryption tooling that constructs sops.Metadata programmatically, version mismatches between library and file metadata, or trees populated from non-standard sources.","solutions":["Inspect the wrapped cause (%w target) to find which metadata field is invalid","Populate all required Metadata fields (KeyGroups, ShamirThreshold/SShards, MAC, Version, LastModified)","Populate trees via LoadEncryptedFile instead of manual construction","Check library/file version compatibility"],"exampleFix":"// before\ntree.Metadata = sops.Metadata{}\nout, err := stores.SerializeMetadata(tree, opts) // \"Error while serializing metadata\"\n// after\ntree.Metadata.KeyGroups = [][]keyservice.Key{{{Recipient: \"...\"}}}\ntree.Metadata.ShamirThreshold = 1\ntree.Metadata.Version = \"3.9.0\"\nout, err := stores.SerializeMetadata(tree, opts)","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"func validMetadata(md sops.Metadata) error {\n\tif len(md.KeyGroups) == 0 {\n\t\treturn errors.New(\"metadata missing key groups\")\n\t}\n\tif md.ShamirThreshold > len(md.KeyGroups) {\n\t\treturn errors.New(\"shamir threshold exceeds key group count\")\n\t}\n\tif md.Version == \"\" {\n\t\treturn errors.New(\"metadata missing version\")\n\t}\n\treturn nil\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"out, err := stores.SerializeMetadata(tree, opts)\nif err != nil {\n\tvar serErr *fmt.wrapError // use errors.As/Is on the underlying cause\n\tif strings.HasPrefix(err.Error(), \"Error while serializing metadata\") {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"invalid tree metadata: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\treturn err\n}","preventionTips":["Populate all Metadata fields before serializing","Load trees via LoadEncryptedFile instead of manual construction","Match the sops library version to the file's metadata version"],"tags":["metadata","serialization","sops"],"backgroundTag":"metadata-serialization-failed","analyzedSha":"13442bb98183887d7a9ac09ec8ab0564673a59d8","analyzedAt":"2026-09-01T03:53:00.447Z","contentChangedAt":null,"schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-08T10:18:20.063Z"}