getgrav/grav · error · RuntimeException

Decoding INI failed

Error message

Decoding INI failed

What it means

IniFormatter::decode() runs @parse_ini_string($data) and throws when it returns false, meaning the payload is not valid INI: a syntax error (missing '=', stray characters), reserved characters in unquoted values, malformed section headers, or content that is not INI at all mapped to this formatter by its file extension.

Solutions

1. Bisect the file: run parse_ini_string on halves to isolate the failing line, then fix the syntax.
2. Quote values that contain special characters: key = "a | b".
3. Confirm the file really is INI — check the extension-to-formatter mapping if another format was intended.
4. Test in isolation: php -r 'var_dump(parse_ini_string(file_get_contents("f.ini")));'

Example fix

; before
menu = Custom | Main

; after
menu = "Custom | Main"

// Cheap pre-check: the same call the formatter makes
if (@parse_ini_string($data) === false) {
    // fix the INI syntax before calling IniFormatter::decode()
}

try {
    $data = $iniFormatter->decode($data);
} catch (\RuntimeException $e) {
    $log->error('INI parse failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
    $data = $defaults;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Decoding a .ini file with a malformed line; unquoted values containing reserved characters ({}|&~!()^"); a file whose extension routes it to IniFormatter although it holds YAML/JSON; keys written with invalid syntax for the active scanner mode.

Common situations: Hand-edited INI configuration; values copied from docs with typographic quotes; assigning plugin config values that contain special characters; format/extension mismatch after renaming files.

Related errors

• Decoding JSON failed
• Badly formatted CSV line
• CSV header missing
• Failed to load file
• Bad data

AI-assisted analysis of getgrav/grav@6040efed04 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/92744ffd33e5120a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at system/src/Grav/Framework/File/Formatter/IniFormatter.php:63

                ['/"/', '/\\\/', "/\t/", "/\n/", "/\r/"],
                ['\"',  '\\\\', '\t',   '\n',   '\r'],
                (string) $value
            ) . "\"\n";
        }

        return $string;
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritdoc}
     * @see FileFormatterInterface::decode()
     */
    public function decode($data): array
    {
        $decoded = @parse_ini_string($data);

        if ($decoded === false) {
            throw new RuntimeException('Decoding INI failed');
        }

        return $decoded;
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 6040efed04)