{"record":{"id":"c78530675e90374b","repo":"go-delve/delve","slug":"entry-has-no-location-attribute","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"entry has no location attribute","messagePattern":"entry has no location attribute","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"pkg/dwarf/reader/reader.go","lineNumber":208,"sourceCode":"\t\treturn nil, errors.New(\"invalid typecast for Dwarf instructions\")\n\t}\n\treturn instr, nil\n}\n\nfunc (reader *Reader) InstructionsForEntry(entry *dwarf.Entry) ([]byte, error) {\n\tif entry.Tag == dwarf.TagMember {\n\t\tinstructions, ok := entry.Val(dwarf.AttrDataMemberLoc).([]byte)\n\t\tif !ok {\n\t\t\treturn nil, errors.New(\"member data has no data member location attribute\")\n\t\t}\n\t\t// clone slice to prevent stomping on the dwarf data\n\t\treturn append([]byte{}, instructions...), nil\n\t}\n\n\t// non-member\n\tinstructions, ok := entry.Val(dwarf.AttrLocation).([]byte)\n\tif !ok {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.New(\"entry has no location attribute\")\n\t}\n\n\t// clone slice to prevent stomping on the dwarf data\n\treturn append([]byte{}, instructions...), nil\n}\n\n// NextMemberVariable moves the reader to the next debug entry that describes a member variable and returns the entry.\nfunc (reader *Reader) NextMemberVariable() (*dwarf.Entry, error) {\n\tfor {\n\t\tentry, err := reader.Next()\n\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\treturn nil, err\n\t\t}\n\t\tif entry == nil {\n\t\t\tbreak\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t// All member variables will be at the same depth","sourceCodeStart":190,"sourceCodeEnd":226,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/go-delve/delve/blob/a23773e6c31361e43246bc43a424ee009679b174/pkg/dwarf/reader/reader.go#L190-L226","documentation":"InstructionsForEntry in pkg/dwarf/reader/reader.go converts a DWARF DIE into DWARF location-expression bytecode. For a non-member entry it reads the entry's dwarf.AttrLocation attribute; if the entry does not carry that attribute (the type assertion to []byte fails), Delve cannot produce location instructions and returns this error.","triggerScenarios":"Calling InstructionsForEntry on a DWARF entry (e.g. a variable DIE) that has no dwarf.AttrLocation attribute, such as entries whose value is stored in registers via other attributes or entries of a kind that is not a location description.","commonSituations":"Evaluating variables from stripped or partially optimized binaries where the compiler omitted location attributes; walking DWARF entries generically (via Reader) and passing non-location DIEs (types, subprograms) to this function.","solutions":["Only call InstructionsForEntry on entries known to describe variables/locations with a location attribute","Check entry.Val(dwarf.AttrLocation) yourself before calling and skip entries missing it","Rebuild the binary without aggressive optimization or with debug info preserved so location attributes are emitted"],"exampleFix":"// before\ninstrs, err := InstructionsForEntry(entry)\n// after\nif entry.Val(dwarf.AttrLocation) == nil {\n    return nil // skip entries without location info\n}\ninstrs, err := InstructionsForEntry(entry)","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"if entry.Val(dwarf.AttrLocation) == nil {\n    return nil, fmt.Errorf(\"entry %v has no location attribute\", entry.Tag)\n}\ninstrs, err := InstructionsForEntry(entry)","typeGuard":"func hasLocationAttr(e *dwarf.Entry) bool {\n    _, ok := e.Val(dwarf.AttrLocation).([]byte)\n    return ok\n}","tryCatchPattern":null,"preventionTips":["Filter DWARF readers to variable/parameter DIEs before extracting locations","Treat missing location attributes as an expected condition in optimized binaries"],"tags":["dwarf","debug-info"],"backgroundTag":"missing-dwarf-location-attribute","analyzedSha":"a23773e6c31361e43246bc43a424ee009679b174","analyzedAt":"2026-08-31T15:12:45.221Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-31T19:17:28.585Z"}