hashicorp/nomad · error

Must specify positive splay value

Error message

Must specify positive splay value

What it means

Template.Validate: the splay (randomized delay applied to template re-renders to avoid thundering herds) is negative. Splay must be zero or a positive duration.

Source

Thrown at nomad/structs/structs.go:9004

		}
		if t.Envvars {
			_ = multierror.Append(&mErr, fmt.Errorf("cannot use signals with env var templates"))
		}
	case TemplateChangeModeScript:
		if t.ChangeScript == nil {
			_ = multierror.Append(&mErr, fmt.Errorf("must specify change script configuration value when change mode is script"))
		}

		if err = t.ChangeScript.Validate(); err != nil {
			_ = multierror.Append(&mErr, err)
		}
	default:
		_ = multierror.Append(&mErr, TemplateChangeModeInvalidError)
	}

	// Verify the splay is positive
	if t.Splay < 0 {
		_ = multierror.Append(&mErr, fmt.Errorf("Must specify positive splay value"))
	}

	// Verify the permissions
	if t.Perms != "" {
		if _, err := strconv.ParseUint(t.Perms, 8, 12); err != nil {
			_ = multierror.Append(&mErr, fmt.Errorf("Failed to parse %q as octal: %v", t.Perms, err))
		}
	}

	if err = t.Wait.Validate(); err != nil {
		_ = multierror.Append(&mErr, err)
	}

	return mErr.ErrorOrNil()
}

func (t *Template) Warnings() error {
	var mErr multierror.Error

View on GitHub (pinned to 482b49bf1a)

Solutions

1. Set splay to a positive duration such as "5s"
2. Omit splay entirely to use the zero default

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at nomad/structs/structs.go:9004 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/nomad@482b49bf1a (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b6ff58d7ae204244. Report an issue: GitHub.