golangci/golangci-lint · error

parse template: %w

Error message

parse template: %w

What it means

generateImports parses the embedded importsTemplate with template.New("plugins.go").Parse. If the template text is syntactically invalid, it returns 'parse template: %w'. Since the template ships inside the binary, this usually means the source tree was edited or a template action is malformed.

Source

Thrown at pkg/commands/internal/imports.go:48

	source, err := generateImports(b.cfg)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("generate imports: %w", err)
	}

	b.log.Infof("generated imports info %s:\n%s\n", importsDest, source)

	err = os.WriteFile(filepath.Clean(importsDest), source, info.Mode())
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("write file %s: %w", importsDest, err)
	}

	return nil
}

func generateImports(cfg *Configuration) ([]byte, error) {
	impTmpl, err := template.New("plugins.go").Parse(importsTemplate)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("parse template: %w", err)
	}

	var imps []string
	for _, plugin := range cfg.Plugins {
		imps = append(imps, plugin.Import)
	}

	buf := &bytes.Buffer{}

	err = impTmpl.Execute(buf, map[string]any{"Imports": imps})
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("execute template: %w", err)
	}

	source, err := format.Source(buf.Bytes())
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("format source: %w", err)
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to ed7a235d2d)

Solutions

1. Restore the original importsTemplate from upstream golangci-lint for your version
2. Fix the template syntax at pkg/commands/internal/imports.go (the parse error names line/column)
3. Remove any merge-conflict markers inside the template literal
4. Validate the template with a small Go snippet (template.New(...).Parse) before rebuilding

Example fix

// before
importsTemplate = `package main {{ .BadAction `
// after
importsTemplate = `package main

import (
{{ range .Imports }}	_ "{{ . }}"
{{ end }})
`

if _, err := template.New("plugins.go").Parse(importsTemplate); err != nil {
	return fmt.Errorf("importsTemplate is invalid: %w", err)
}

_, err := generateImports(cfg)
if err != nil && strings.HasPrefix(err.Error(), "parse template:") {
	return fmt.Errorf("built-in template corrupted; restore pkg/commands/internal/imports.go from upstream: %w", err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: template.Parse fails on importsTemplate — malformed Go template actions ({{...}}), stray braces, or a locally edited template string in pkg/commands/internal/imports.go.

Common situations: Hand-editing importsTemplate and breaking syntax; unresolved merge-conflict markers inside the template literal; backtick/quoting issues when patching; copy-paste introducing invalid actions.

Related errors

• generate imports: %w
• open source file: %w
• file %s not found: %w
• write file %s: %w
• failed to load packages: %w

AI-assisted analysis of golangci/golangci-lint@ed7a235d2d (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/69413e79ad1bf7e7. Report an issue: GitHub.