{"record":{"id":"ff66b45713330195","repo":"hashicorp/terraform","slug":"attempted-to-encode-a-malformed-backend-state-file-ff66b4","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"attempted to encode a malformed backend state file; data is empty","messagePattern":"attempted to encode a malformed backend state file; data is empty","errorType":"validation","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"internal/command/workdir/statestore_config_state.go","lineNumber":46,"sourceCode":"\tType               string                          `json:\"type\"`                 // State store type name\n\tProvider           *ProviderConfigState            `json:\"provider\"`             // Details about the state-storage provider\n\tConfigRaw          json.RawMessage                 `json:\"config\"`               // state_store block raw config, barring provider details\n\tHash               uint64                          `json:\"hash\"`                 // Hash of the state_store block's configuration, including the nested provider block\n\tProviderSupplyMode getproviders.ProviderSupplyMode `json:\"provider_supply_mode\"` // How the provider was supplied to Terraform during the init operation that created this config state.\n}\n\n// Empty returns true if there is no active state store.\nfunc (s *StateStoreConfigState) Empty() bool {\n\treturn s == nil || s.Type == \"\"\n}\n\n// Validate returns true if there are no missing expected values, and\n// important values have been validated, e.g. FQNs. When the config is\n// invalid an error will be returned.\nfunc (s *StateStoreConfigState) Validate() error {\n\t// Are any bits of data totally missing?\n\tif s.Empty() {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"attempted to encode a malformed backend state file; data is empty\")\n\t}\n\tif s.Type == \"\" {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"attempted to encode a malformed backend state file; state store type is missing\")\n\t}\n\tif s.Provider == nil {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"attempted to encode a malformed backend state file; provider data is missing\")\n\t}\n\tif s.ConfigRaw == nil {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"attempted to encode a malformed backend state file; state_store configuration data is missing\")\n\t}\n\n\t// Validity of data that is there\n\terr := s.Provider.Source.Validate()\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"state store is not valid: %w\", err)\n\t}\n\n\t// Version information is required if the provider isn't builtin or unmanaged by Terraform","sourceCodeStart":28,"sourceCodeEnd":64,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/blob/c9def3e214014c1188faabfc4a5bde5095139765/internal/command/workdir/statestore_config_state.go#L28-L64","documentation":"StateStoreConfigState.Validate at statestore_config_state.go:45 rejects an empty state store — Empty() returns true when the receiver is nil or Type == '' (statestore_config_state.go:36). Encoding such an object would produce a meaningless file with no state store, so it is blocked before serialization in EncodeBackendStateFile.","triggerScenarios":"Validate() is called (transitively from EncodeBackendStateFile at backend_state.go:135) on a StateStoreConfigState whose Type is unset or on a nil receiver.","commonSituations":"Internal programming error where a StateStoreConfigState was allocated but never populated; this is not reachable from normal user configuration.","solutions":["If this surfaces to an end user, report a Terraform bug with the version and reproduction steps.","In caller code, only invoke EncodeBackendStateFile when the StateStoreConfigState is fully populated (Type, Provider, ConfigRaw all set).","Re-run 'terraform init' to regenerate a well-formed .terraform/ directory."],"exampleFix":"// before\ns := &workdir.StateStoreConfigState{} // Type empty\nEncodeBackendStateFile(&BackendStateFile{StateStore: s}) // -> error 767\n\n// after\ns.Type = \"remote\"\ns.Provider = &ProviderConfigState{...}\ns.ConfigRaw = raw\ns.ProviderSupplyMode = getproviders.ManagedByTerraform","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"// Never validate/encode an empty state store.\nif s.Empty() {\n    return errors.New(\"cannot encode: state store config is empty\")\n}\n// only call EncodeBackendStateFile when s is fully populated.","typeGuard":"null","tryCatchPattern":"null","preventionTips":["Construct StateStoreConfigState through a single factory that requires Type, Provider, and ConfigRaw.","Add assertions/panic in tests if an empty state store reaches the encode path.","Treat this error as a bug — it should never reach a user."],"tags":["terraform","state-store","validation","bug"],"analyzedSha":"c9def3e214014c1188faabfc4a5bde5095139765","analyzedAt":"2026-08-07T15:39:49.278Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-07T20:17:04.800Z"}