dgraph-io/dgraph · error

failed to read master manifest:

Error message

failed to read master manifest: 

What it means

getConsolidatedManifest first tries to read the existing master manifest (manifest.yaml) at the backup root via readMasterManifest. This error wraps any failure of that read (I/O error, permissions, malformed content) so GetManifestNoUpgrade callers see that the master manifest could not be loaded.

Source

Thrown at worker/backup_manifest.go:124

	}

	if req.BackupNum > 0 {
		if len(manifests) < int(req.BackupNum) {
			return nil, errors.Errorf("not enough backups to restore manifest with backupNum %d",
				req.BackupNum)
		}
		manifests = manifests[len(manifests)-int(req.BackupNum):]
	}
	return manifests, nil
}

// getConsolidatedManifest walks over all the backup directories and generates a master manifest.
func getConsolidatedManifest(h UriHandler, uri *url.URL) (*MasterManifest, error) {
	// If there is a master manifest already, we just return it.
	if h.FileExists(backupManifest) {
		manifest, err := readMasterManifest(h, backupManifest)
		if err != nil {
			return &MasterManifest{}, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to read master manifest: ")
		}
		return manifest, nil
	}

	// Otherwise, we create a master manifest by going through all the backup directories.
	paths := h.ListPaths("")

	var manifestPaths []string
	suffix := filepath.Join(string(filepath.Separator), backupManifest)
	for _, p := range paths {
		if strings.HasSuffix(p, suffix) {
			manifestPaths = append(manifestPaths, p)
		}
	}

	sort.Strings(manifestPaths)
	var mlist []*Manifest

View on GitHub (pinned to 759e242be6)

Solutions

1. Verify storage credentials/permissions for the backup URI and retry.
2. Inspect the master manifest file for corruption; re-upload or repair it.
3. Delete the corrupt master manifest so it is regenerated from per-backup manifests (getConsolidatedManifest rebuilds it).
4. Check network/proxy connectivity to the storage backend.

Example fix

// before: corrupt master manifest blocks reads
aws s3 rm s3://bucket/backup/manifest.yaml
// after: it is regenerated from individual backup manifests on next read

ok, err := storageAccessible(uri, "manifest.yaml")
if err != nil || !ok {
    return fmt.Errorf("master manifest unreadable at %s: %v", uri, err)
}

manifest, err := GetManifestNoUpgrade(h, uri)
if err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "failed to read master manifest") {
    // validate credentials/connectivity, optionally remove corrupt master manifest and retry
    if err2 := checkStorageAccess(h); err2 == nil {
        manifest, err = GetManifestNoUpgrade(h, uri)
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: GetManifestNoUpgrade is called when a master manifest file exists at the backup URI root but h.FileExists(backupManifest) is true and readMasterManifest fails — unreadable/corrupt manifest file, wrong credentials, or transient storage errors.

Common situations: Expired cloud-storage credentials; corrupted manifest file after interrupted upload; partially uploaded master manifest; object-store permission changes.

Related errors

• while Getting latest manifest:
• readManifest failed to read the file:
• cannot read manifests at location %s
• complete backup failed
• cannot export data inside DB at %s

AI-assisted analysis of dgraph-io/dgraph@759e242be6 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/953082fa1f4291bd. Report an issue: GitHub.