golang/go · error

invalid %s path: %v

Error message

invalid %s path: %v

What it means

Thrown by parsePathVersionOptional (used by `go work edit -dropuse`/`-replace`) when the module-path portion of an argument fails module.CheckImportPath and the caller did not allow directory paths (or the path is not a directory-shaped path). It surfaces the underlying import-path validation error.

Source

Thrown at src/cmd/go/internal/workcmd/edit.go:297

func allowedVersionArg(arg string) bool {
	return !modfile.MustQuote(arg)
}

// parsePathVersionOptional parses path[@version], using adj to
// describe any errors.
func parsePathVersionOptional(adj, arg string, allowDirPath bool) (path, version string, err error) {
	before, after, found, err := modload.ParsePathVersion(arg)
	if err != nil {
		return "", "", err
	}
	if !found {
		path = arg
	} else {
		path, version = strings.TrimSpace(before), strings.TrimSpace(after)
	}
	if err := module.CheckImportPath(path); err != nil {
		if !allowDirPath || !modfile.IsDirectoryPath(path) {
			return path, version, fmt.Errorf("invalid %s path: %v", adj, err)
		}
	}
	if path != arg && !allowedVersionArg(version) {
		return path, version, fmt.Errorf("invalid %s version: %q", adj, version)
	}
	return path, version, nil
}

// flagEditworkReplace implements the -replace flag.
func flagEditworkReplace(arg string) {
	before, after, found := strings.Cut(arg, "=")
	if !found {
		base.Fatalf("go: -replace=%s: need old[@v]=new[@w] (missing =)", arg)
	}
	old, new := strings.TrimSpace(before), strings.TrimSpace(after)
	if strings.HasPrefix(new, ">") {
		base.Fatalf("go: -replace=%s: separator between old and new is =, not =>", arg)
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to b6b368adc5)

Solutions

1. Correct the module path to match Go import-path rules (lowercase, no spaces, dot-separated).
2. For a local directory, ensure the path looks like a directory path (modfile.IsDirectoryPath) and the command allows it.
3. Strip a leading scheme/host if you pasted a full URL: use the import path component only.
4. Validate first: `go list -m <path>`.

Example fix

# before
// go work edit -dropuse GitHub.com/User/Mod

# after
// go work edit -dropuse github.com/user/mod

// Validate a module path before passing to `go work edit`
if err := module.CheckImportPath(path); err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("invalid module path %q: %v", path, err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Run `go work edit -dropuse Bad-Path` or `-replace Bad-Path=foo@v1` where the path violates Go import-path rules (uppercase letters, spaces, leading dots, invalid characters, empty segments). CheckImportPath returns an error and parsePathVersionOptional wraps it.

Common situations: Typo in a module path; passing a local Windows path with backslashes; using a capitalized or spaced repository name; copy-pasting a URL instead of a module path; trailing slashes or double slashes.

Related errors

• invalid %s version: %q
• %v is not a regular file
• non-file URL
• file URL missing path
• file URL encodes volume in host field: too few slashes?

AI-assisted analysis of golang/go@b6b368adc5 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/eb359f6d5be64dd5. Report an issue: GitHub.