crowdsecurity/crowdsec · error

path is too short: %s (%d)

Error message

path is too short: %s (%d)

What it means

newHubItemSpec splits a file path under the hub directory into path segments ('subs') and expects at least <type>/<author>/<name> for most item types (e.g. .../hub/scenarios/crowdsecurity/ssh_bf.yaml). If fewer than 3 segments are found below the hub root, the path does not follow the hub layout and cannot be turned into an itemSpec, so this error is returned. It is a structural validation of hub file locations during hub sync.

Source

Thrown at pkg/cwhub/sync.go:40

type itemSpec struct {
	path  string // full path to the file (or link)
	fname string // name of the item:
	// for local item, taken from the file content or defaults to the filename (including extension)
	// for non-local items, always {author}/{name}
	stage   string // stage for parsers and overflows
	ftype   string // type, plural (collections, contexts etc.)
	fauthor string // author - empty for local items
	inhub   bool   // true if the spec comes from the hub dir
	target  string // the target of path if it's a link, otherwise == path
	local   bool   // is this a spec for a local item?
}

func newHubItemSpec(path string, subs []string) (*itemSpec, error) {
	// .../hub/parsers/s00-raw/crowdsecurity/skip-pretag.yaml
	// .../hub/scenarios/crowdsecurity/ssh_bf.yaml
	// .../hub/profiles/crowdsecurity/linux.yaml
	if len(subs) < 3 {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("path is too short: %s (%d)", path, len(subs))
	}

	ftype := subs[0]
	if !slices.Contains(ItemTypes, ftype) {
		// this doesn't really happen anymore, because we only scan the {hubtype} directories
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown configuration type '%s'", ftype)
	}

	stage := ""
	fauthor := subs[1]
	fname := subs[2]

	if ftype == PARSERS || ftype == POSTOVERFLOWS {
		if len(subs) < 4 {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("path is too short: %s (%d)", path, len(subs))
		}

		stage = subs[1]

View on GitHub (pinned to 909b515798)

Solutions

1. Move the file into the proper hub layout: <hubdir>/<type>/<author>/<name>.yaml
2. Remove or relocate stray files that don't belong in the hub directory (use the config/install directory for local items instead)
3. Verify HUBDIR in your config points to the hub working directory (e.g. /etc/crowdsec/hub), not a parent or child of it
4. Re-download the hub with 'cscli hub update' if the tree looks corrupted

Example fix

// before: file at hub/scenarios/my_scenario.yaml (no author dir)
mv /etc/crowdsec/hub/scenarios/my_scenario.yaml /etc/crowdsec/hub/scenarios/crowdsecurity/my_scenario.yaml
// after: correct layout .../hub/<type>/<author>/<name>.yaml

import (
	"path/filepath"
	"strings"
)

func isValidHubPath(hubDir, file string) bool {
	rel, err := filepath.Rel(hubDir, file)
	if err != nil {
		return false
	}
	depth := len(strings.Split(filepath.ToSlash(rel), "/"))
	return depth >= 3 // <type>/<author>/<name>.yaml
}

spec, err := cwhub.NewItemSpec(...) // or run Hub.Load
if err != nil {
	log.Warnf("skipping unclassifiable hub file: %v", err)
	return nil // skip instead of failing the whole sync
}

When it happens

Trigger: Walking h.local.HubDir finds a file whose path relative to the hub directory has fewer than 3 segments, e.g. a yaml dropped directly under hub/scenarios/ or hub/<type>/file.yaml with no author directory.

Common situations: Manually copying a .yaml into a hub type directory without the author subdirectory; a misconfigured HUBDIR pointing at the wrong tree depth; half-deleted hub checkouts; symlinks resolving outside the expected layout.

Related errors

• file '%s' is not from hub '%s' nor from the configuration di
• no parser found. Please install the appropriate parser and r
• unknown configuration type '%s'
• %s: %w
• failed to sync %s: %w

AI-assisted analysis of crowdsecurity/crowdsec@909b515798 (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4d2e9e78513d4211. Report an issue: GitHub.