crowdsecurity/crowdsec · error

could not parse file args: %w

Error message

could not parse file args: %w

What it means

Returned by ConfigureByDSN when the query-string portion of a file:// DSN (everything after '?') is not a valid URL-encoded query. Wraps the net/url parse error; the offending input is the raw query parameters supplied in the DSN.

Source

Thrown at pkg/acquisition/modules/file/config.go:170

	if !strings.HasPrefix(dsn, "file://") {
		return fmt.Errorf("invalid DSN %s for file source, must start with file://", dsn)
	}

	s.logger = logger
	s.config = Configuration{}

	dsn = strings.TrimPrefix(dsn, "file://")

	args := strings.Split(dsn, "?")

	if args[0] == "" {
		return errors.New("empty file:// DSN")
	}

	if len(args) == 2 && args[1] != "" {
		params, err := url.ParseQuery(args[1])
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("could not parse file args: %w", err)
		}

		for key, value := range params {
			switch key {
			case "log_level":
				if len(value) != 1 {
					return errors.New("expected zero or one value for 'log_level'")
				}

				lvl, err := log.ParseLevel(value[0])
				if err != nil {
					return fmt.Errorf("unknown level %s: %w", value[0], err)
				}

				s.logger.Logger.SetLevel(lvl)
			case "max_buffer_size":
				if len(value) != 1 {
					return errors.New("expected zero or one value for 'max_buffer_size'")

View on GitHub (pinned to 909b515798)

Solutions

1. Fix the DSN query parameters to well-formed key=value pairs separated by '&'
2. URL-encode special characters in parameter values

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at pkg/acquisition/modules/file/config.go:170 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of crowdsecurity/crowdsec@909b515798 (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9bd1ea9e0d56e7ab. Report an issue: GitHub.