badges/shields · error · NotFound

distribution.yaml not found: ${distro}@${prettyRef}

Error message

distribution.yaml not found: ${distro}@${prettyRef}

What it means

The ROS version badge throws NotFound 'distribution.yaml not found: <distro>@<ref>' when the GitHub content query succeeds but the response has no data.repository.object — i.e. the distribution.yaml file for that ROS distro and git ref does not exist in ros/rosdistro. The requested distro/ref combination is invalid for the repository.

Source

Thrown at services/ros/ros-version.service.js:130

      query: gql`
        query ($expression: String!) {
          repository(owner: "ros", name: "rosdistro") {
            object(expression: $expression) {
              ... on Blob {
                text
              }
            }
          }
        }
      `,
      variables: {
        expression: `${ref}:${distro}/distribution.yaml`,
      },
      schema: contentSchema,
    })

    if (!contentJson.data.repository.object) {
      throw new NotFound({
        prettyMessage: `distribution.yaml not found: ${distro}@${prettyRef}`,
      })
    }
    const version = this.constructor._parseReleaseVersionFromDistro(
      contentJson.data.repository.object.text,
      repoName,
    )

    return { ...renderVersionBadge({ version }), label: `ros | ${distro}` }
  }

  static _parseReleaseVersionFromDistro(distroYaml, repoName) {
    let distro
    try {
      distro = yaml.load(distroYaml)
    } catch (err) {
      throw new InvalidResponse({
        prettyMessage: 'unparseable distribution.yml',

View on GitHub (pinned to 766fd8bc89)

Solutions

1. Use a currently supported ROS distro name that exists in ros/rosdistro (check rosdistro repo for <distro>/distribution.yaml)
2. Verify the git ref (branch/tag) used contains the distro's distribution.yaml
3. Correct the typo in the distro parameter of the badge URL

Example fix

// before
/badge/ros/v/mypkg/melodic   (removed distro)
// after
/badge/ros/v/mypkg/noetic

const res = await fetch(`https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ros/rosdistro/${ref}/${distro}/distribution.yaml`)
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`distribution.yaml not found for ${distro}@${ref}`)

function hasDistroObject(contentJson) {
  return contentJson?.data?.repository?.object != null &&
    typeof contentJson.data.repository.object.text === 'string'
}

try {
  const badge = await service.handle({ distro: 'noetic', repoName: 'mypkg' })
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof NotFound && err.prettyMessage.startsWith('distribution.yaml not found')) {
    return renderBadge({ label: 'ros', message: 'n/a' })
  }
  throw err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Requesting a badge with a distro name not present in rosdistro for the given ref (e.g. 'melodic' after EOL removal, or a future distro), or a ref (branch/tag) where the file path `<ref>:<distro>/distribution.yaml` doesn't resolve.

Common situations: ROS distros removed from the master rosdistro branch after EOL; typos in the distro name; pinning an old commit ref where the distro file hadn't been added yet.

Related errors

• repo not found: ${repoName}
• bucket "${bucket}" not found
• package not found
• gist not found
• no matching releases found

AI-assisted analysis of badges/shields@766fd8bc89 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5c569324cb8df7ff. Report an issue: GitHub.