gohugoio/hugo · error

wrapError with nil

Error message

wrapError with nil

What it means

Panic in pageMetaSource.wrapError when called with a nil error. wrapError exists solely to add file/source context to an existing error; a nil argument is a programming mistake in the caller. It is a defensive assertion to prevent silent no-op error wrapping.

Source

Thrown at hugolib/page.go:779

		o = append(o, of)
	}
	return o
}

type renderStringOpts struct {
	Display string
	Markup  string
}

var defaultRenderStringOpts = renderStringOpts{
	Display: "inline",
	Markup:  "", // Will inherit the page's value when not set.
}

func (m *pageMetaSource) wrapError(err error, sourceFs afero.Fs) error {
	if err == nil {
		panic("wrapError with nil")
	}

	if m.f == nil {
		// No more details to add.
		return fmt.Errorf("%q: %w", m.Path(), err)
	}

	return hugofs.AddFileInfoToError(err, m.f.FileInfo(), sourceFs)
}

// wrapError adds some more context to the given error if possible/needed
func (ps *pageState) wrapError(err error) error {
	return ps.m.wrapError(err, ps.s.h.SourceFs)
}

func (ps *pageState) getPageInfoForError() string {
	s := fmt.Sprintf("kind: %q, path: %q", ps.Kind(), ps.Path())
	if ps.File() != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to 52c9bd7908)

Solutions

1. If you see this in Hugo core, file an issue; it is an internal bug — wrapError must only be called with a non-nil error.
2. Update Hugo to the latest release where the call-site bug is likely fixed.
3. If patching locally, guard the call site: if err != nil { err = ps.wrapError(err) }.

Example fix

// before (Hugo internal call site)
return m.wrapError(err) // err may be nil

// after
if err != nil {
    return m.wrapError(err)
}
return nil

// Hugo internal callers: never call wrapError with a nil error.
//   if err != nil { err = ps.wrapError(err) }
// API users cannot trigger this directly; it indicates an internal bug.

When it happens

Trigger: Hugo internal code calls m.wrapError(err) without first checking err != nil. Typically a logic bug where the error variable is nil at the call site (e.g. a function that returned nil error but the wrap is reached unconditionally).

Common situations: A bug introduced during refactoring of error handling paths. A new code path that wraps unconditionally. Reached only via malformed input that bypasses an earlier error check.

Related errors

• no site
• ContentMediaType not set
• no pageOutput
• pageOutput is nil for output idx %d
• pageMeta.pageMetaSource.pi must be set before creating cache

AI-assisted analysis of gohugoio/hugo@52c9bd7908 (2026-08-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8c78ce47255ed6ba. Report an issue: GitHub.