golang/go · error

%s: invalid repo root %q: %v

Error message

%s: invalid repo root %q: %v

What it means

validateRepoRoot rejected the RepoRoot field of the matched meta import. The validator requires a URL that parses, has a non-empty scheme, and whose scheme is not 'file'. The %s is resp.URL, %q is the repo root URL, %v is the validator's error (parse error, 'no scheme', or 'file scheme disallowed').

Source

Thrown at src/cmd/go/internal/vcs/vcs.go:1054

			log.Printf("get %q: verifying non-authoritative meta tag", importPath)
		}
		var imports []metaImport
		url, imports, err = metaImportsForPrefix(mmi.Prefix, mod, security)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}
		metaImport2, err := matchGoImport(imports, importPath)
		if err != nil || mmi != metaImport2 {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s and %s disagree about go-import for %s", resp.URL, url, mmi.Prefix)
		}
	}

	if err := validateRepoSubDir(mmi.SubDir); err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: invalid subdirectory %q: %v", resp.URL, mmi.SubDir, err)
	}

	if err := validateRepoRoot(mmi.RepoRoot); err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: invalid repo root %q: %v", resp.URL, mmi.RepoRoot, err)
	}
	var vcs *Cmd
	if mmi.VCS == "mod" {
		vcs = vcsMod
	} else {
		vcs = vcsByCmd(mmi.VCS)
		if vcs == nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: unknown vcs %q", resp.URL, mmi.VCS)
		}
	}

	if err := checkGOVCS(vcs, mmi.Prefix); err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	repoURL, ok := interceptVCSTest(mmi.RepoRoot, vcs, security)
	if !ok {
		repoURL = mmi.RepoRoot

View on GitHub (pinned to b6b368adc5)

Solutions

1. Ensure RepoRoot is a fully-qualified URL with a supported scheme (https://, http://, git://, ssh://)
2. Re-publish the meta tag with a canonical https:// repo root

// Validate a repo root URL the same way cmd/go does
func validRepoRoot(s string) error {
  u, err := url.Parse(s)
  if err != nil { return err }
  if u.Scheme == "" { return errors.New("no scheme") }
  if u.Scheme == "file" { return errors.New("file scheme disallowed") }
  return nil
}

When it happens

Trigger: The go-import meta tag's RepoRoot is missing a scheme, uses 'file://', is unparseable, or uses an unsupported form like 'git@host:path'.

Common situations: Vanity server emitting 'git@github.com:org/repo' (SCP-like, no scheme) or a relative URL into the repo-root field.

Related errors

• parse %s: %v
• parse %s: no go-import meta tags (%s)
• %s and %s disagree about go-import for %s
• %s: invalid subdirectory %q: %v
• %s: unknown vcs %q

AI-assisted analysis of golang/go@b6b368adc5 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2326ee926e072483. Report an issue: GitHub.