argoproj/argo-workflows · error

failed to convert to workflow from unstructured: %w

Error message

failed to convert to workflow from unstructured: %w

What it means

In archiveWorkflowAux (workflow/controller/controller.go:1397), the completed-workflow archiving path converts the unstructured informer object into a typed *wfv1.Workflow via util.FromUnstructured; if the conversion (including spec validation) fails, this wrapped error is returned. It means the object that just completed does not deserialize/validate as a valid Workflow.

Source

Thrown at workflow/controller/controller.go:1397

			if wf != nil {
				wfc.metrics.DeleteRealtimeMetricsForWfUID(string(wf.GetUID()))
			}
		},
	})
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	return nil
}

func (wfc *WorkflowController) archiveWorkflowAux(ctx context.Context, obj any) error {
	un, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
	if !ok {
		return nil
	}
	wf, err := util.FromUnstructured(un)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to convert to workflow from unstructured: %w", err)
	}
	err = wfc.hydrator.Hydrate(ctx, wf)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to hydrate workflow: %w", err)
	}
	logger := logging.RequireLoggerFromContext(ctx)
	logger.WithFields(logging.Fields{"namespace": wf.Namespace, "workflow": wf.Name, "uid": wf.UID}).Info(ctx, "archiving workflow")
	err = wfc.wfArchive.ArchiveWorkflow(ctx, wf)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to archive workflow: %w", err)
	}
	data, err := json.Marshal(map[string]any{
		"metadata": metav1.ObjectMeta{
			Labels: map[string]string{
				common.LabelKeyWorkflowArchivingStatus: "Archived",
			},
		},
	})

View on GitHub (pinned to 35bff19146)

Solutions

1. Check the wrapped inner error for the exact schema/validation failure and fix the offending workflow fields.
2. Align controller and CRD versions (upgrade both together); re-apply the matching CRDs from the same release.
3. Delete/recreate the malformed workflow if its content is unrecoverable; archiving is skipped but the workflow is not blocked from deletion.
4. Run `argo lint` on the workflow spec to reproduce the validation error outside the controller.

// Validate the workflow spec before submitting so completion-time conversion can't fail
wf := wfv1.Workflow{}
if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &wf); err != nil { return err }
if err := wf.Validate(ctx, validate.DefaultOpts); err != nil { return err }
// or: argo lint my-workflow.yaml

wf, err := util.FromUnstructured(un)
if err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("failed to convert to workflow from unstructured: %w", err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: A workflow object on workflow-completion (added to the archive queue) cannot be converted from unstructured — corrupted or non-conforming Workflow CR in the cluster, an object written by an incompatible/newer schema version, or a malformed CR applied manually.

Common situations: CRD/schema version skew (controller older than objects written by a newer Argo version); hand-edited workflow resources; validation rules tightened in util.FromUnstructured so legacy objects no longer pass.

Understand the failure class

Background: Schema validation failed / invalid input schema: payload rejected because its shape doesn't match the expected schema — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• executor plugin metadata name is mandatory
• clientSecret empty
• ConfigMap '%s' needs to have the label %s: %s to load parame
• ArtifactGCStrategy %q not valid
• failed to mark the workflow archived: %w

AI-assisted analysis of argoproj/argo-workflows@35bff19146 (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/df2da10141846634. Report an issue: GitHub.