decode persisted container withSecretVariable lazy payload:

Error message

decode persisted container withSecretVariable lazy payload: %w

What it means

This error wraps a json.Unmarshal failure decoding the persisted lazy payload for a Container's 'withSecretVariable' operation (from Container.WithSecretVariable). The payload must contain the parent result ID, secret name, and secret result ID; malformed JSON or wrong field types trigger it. It signals incompatible or corrupt persisted lazy state rather than a user API misuse.

Source

Thrown at core/container.go:4579

	case "withoutAnnotation":
		var persisted persistedContainerWithoutAnnotationLazy
		if err := json.Unmarshal(payload, &persisted); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("decode persisted container withoutAnnotation lazy payload: %w", err)
		}
		parent, err := loadPersistedObjectResultByResultID[*Container](ctx, dag, persisted.ParentResultID, "container withoutAnnotation parent")
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}
		container.Lazy = &ContainerWithoutAnnotationLazy{
			LazyState: NewLazyState(),
			Parent:    parent,
			Name:      persisted.Name,
		}
		return nil
	case "withSecretVariable":
		var persisted persistedContainerWithSecretVariableLazy
		if err := json.Unmarshal(payload, &persisted); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("decode persisted container withSecretVariable lazy payload: %w", err)
		}
		parent, err := loadPersistedObjectResultByResultID[*Container](ctx, dag, persisted.ParentResultID, "container withSecretVariable parent")
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}
		secret, err := loadPersistedObjectResultByResultID[*Secret](ctx, dag, persisted.SecretResultID, "container withSecretVariable secret")
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}
		container.Lazy = &ContainerWithSecretVariableLazy{
			LazyState: NewLazyState(),
			Parent:    parent,
			Name:      persisted.Name,
			Secret:    secret,
		}
		return nil
	case "withoutSecretVariable":
		var persisted persistedContainerWithoutSecretVariableLazy

View on GitHub (pinned to 82ba2681db)

Solutions

Prune or reset the Dagger engine cache so the pipeline re-executes and re-persists the lazy state
Pin the same Dagger version for writing and reading persisted state (schema may have changed between releases)
Verify engine storage integrity (disk errors, partial writes) and re-run the pipeline
If reproducible on current versions, report with the inner json.Unmarshal error

Example fix

null

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

null

Type guard

null

Try / catch

if err := runPipeline(ctx); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "decode persisted container withSecretVariable lazy payload") {
        // invalid persisted lazy payload: clear cache, re-run
        exec.Command("dagger", "engine", "prune").Run()
        err = runPipeline(ctx)
    }
    return err
}

Prevention

Upgrade CLI and engine together; never mix versions in one pipeline
Prune cache after Dagger upgrades before resuming persisted workflows
Watch for disk-full conditions that cause partial cache writes
Re-run the pipeline rather than reusing suspicious persisted state

When it happens

Trigger: Hydrating a persisted Container built with WithSecretVariable where the stored JSON does not match persistedContainerWithSecretVariableLazy - e.g. SecretResultID or ParentResultID fields missing, wrong-typed, or payload truncated.

Common situations: Dagger engine upgraded between write and read of the persisted state; corrupted engine cache; a secret result reference record that was garbage-collected or written incorrectly.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of dagger/dagger@82ba2681db (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bfb0f71c07480df8. Report an issue: GitHub.