getsops/sops · error

failed to parse input, unknown recipient type: %q

Error message

failed to parse input, unknown recipient type: %q

What it means

Error "failed to parse input, unknown recipient type: %q" thrown in getsops/sops.

Source

Thrown at age/keysource.go:519

			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse input as age key from age plugin: %w", err)
		}
		return parsedRecipient, nil
	case strings.HasPrefix(recipient, "age1"):
		parsedRecipient, err := age.ParseX25519Recipient(recipient)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse input as Bech32-encoded age public key: %w", err)
		}

		return parsedRecipient, nil
	case strings.HasPrefix(recipient, "ssh-"):
		parsedRecipient, err := agessh.ParseRecipient(recipient)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse input as age-ssh public key: %w", err)
		}
		return parsedRecipient, nil
	}

	return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse input, unknown recipient type: %q", recipient)
}

// parseIdentities attempts to parse one or more age identities from the provided reader.
// One identity per line.
// Empty lines and lines starting with "#" are ignored.
// If allowMultipleKeysPerLine is true, every non-empty lines is split by words,
// and every word is parsed as an identity.
func parseIdentities(r io.Reader, allowMultipleKeysPerLine bool) (ParsedIdentities, error) {
	var identities ParsedIdentities

	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(r)

	for scanner.Scan() {
		line := scanner.Text()

		if line == "" || strings.HasPrefix(line, "#") {
			continue
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 13442bb981)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at age/keysource.go:519 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

AI-assisted analysis of getsops/sops@13442bb981 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0599d3c456203482. Report an issue: GitHub.