{"record":{"id":"f378a98d1ef1178e","repo":"ahmetb/kubectx","slug":"failed-to-get-current-context-w-f378a9","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"failed to get current context: %w","messagePattern":"failed to get current context: %w","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"cmd/kubens/switch.go","lineNumber":54,"sourceCode":"func (s SwitchOp) Run(_, stderr io.Writer) error {\n\tkc := new(kubeconfig.Kubeconfig).WithLoader(kubeconfig.DefaultLoader)\n\tdefer kc.Close()\n\tif err := kc.Parse(); err != nil {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"kubeconfig error: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\n\ttoNS, err := switchNamespace(kc, s.Target, s.Force)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn err\n\t}\n\terr = printer.Success(stderr, \"Active namespace is \\\"%s\\\"\", printer.SuccessColor.Sprint(toNS))\n\treturn err\n}\n\nfunc switchNamespace(kc *kubeconfig.Kubeconfig, ns string, force bool) (string, error) {\n\tctx, err := kc.GetCurrentContext()\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn \"\", fmt.Errorf(\"failed to get current context: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\tif ctx == \"\" {\n\t\treturn \"\", errors.New(\"current-context is not set\")\n\t}\n\tcurNS, err := kc.NamespaceOfContext(ctx)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn \"\", fmt.Errorf(\"failed to get current namespace: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\n\tf := NewNSFile(ctx)\n\tprev, err := f.Load()\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn \"\", fmt.Errorf(\"failed to load previous namespace from file: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\n\tif ns == \"-\" {\n\t\tif prev == \"\" {\n\t\t\treturn \"\", fmt.Errorf(\"No previous namespace found for current context (%s)\", ctx)","sourceCodeStart":36,"sourceCodeEnd":72,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/ahmetb/kubectx/blob/12ad6fb22e8c546ee2b54e7de38aa51c906832f7/cmd/kubens/switch.go#L36-L72","documentation":"switchNamespace calls kc.GetCurrentContext() to read the current-context field of the active kubeconfig before performing a namespace switch. This error wraps any failure from that read — typically the kubeconfig file cannot be read or parsed at the moment of the call. It is thrown by kubens's switchNamespace (cmd/kubens/switch.go:54), invoked by SwitchOp.Run.","triggerScenarios":"kc.GetCurrentContext() returns a non-nil error because the kubeconfig path (KUBECONFIG or ~/.kube/config) is missing, unreadable (permissions), malformed YAML, or the loader fails to resolve the file.","commonSituations":"KUBECONFIG env var points to a nonexistent file; ~/.kube/config has wrong ownership/permissions (e.g. mounted by root in a container); a corrupted or truncated kubeconfig after an interrupted write; running kubens before ever running kubectl (no config file exists).","solutions":["Check the kubeconfig file exists and is readable: echo $KUBECONFIG; ls -l ~/.kube/config","Validate the kubeconfig parses: kubectl config current-context — fix YAML syntax errors it reports","If no config exists, generate one (kubectl cluster-info after cluster setup, or copy the cluster's kubeconfig to ~/.kube/config)","Fix file permissions: chmod 600 ~/.kube/config and ensure you own it"],"exampleFix":"// before\nexport KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/confog   # typo: file does not exist\n// after\nexport KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/config","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"cfgPath := os.Getenv(\"KUBECONFIG\");\nif cfgPath == \"\" { cfgPath = filepath.Join(os.Getenv(\"HOME\"), \".kube\", \"config\") }\nif fi, err := os.Stat(cfgPath); err != nil || fi.IsDir() {\n    return fmt.Errorf(\"kubeconfig %s missing or unreadable\", cfgPath)\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"if _, err := kc.GetCurrentContext(); err != nil {\n    var perr *os.PathError\n    if errors.As(err, &perr) { /* advise fixing KUBECONFIG/permissions */ }\n    return err\n}","preventionTips":["Check `kubectl config current-context` works before scripting kubens","Never point KUBECONFIG at a nonexistent or relative-to-cwd path","Keep ~/.kube/config owned by the invoking user with 0600 permissions"],"tags":["kubeconfig","go","kubens"],"backgroundTag":"kubeconfig-unreadable","analyzedSha":"12ad6fb22e8c546ee2b54e7de38aa51c906832f7","analyzedAt":"2026-09-02T12:23:10.107Z","contentChangedAt":null,"schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-09T16:17:10.729Z"}