hashicorp/nomad · error

unit can not be specified on a boolean or string attribute

Error message

unit can not be specified on a boolean or string attribute

What it means

Attribute.Validate: a unit was set on an attribute whose value is a string or boolean. Units only apply to numeric (float/int) attribute values.

Source

Thrown at plugins/shared/structs/attribute.go:254

	}

	if a.Unit != "" {
		b.WriteString(a.Unit)
	}

	return b.String()
}

// Validate checks if the attribute is valid
func (a *Attribute) Validate() error {
	if a.Unit != "" {
		if _, ok := UnitIndex[a.Unit]; !ok {
			return fmt.Errorf("unrecognized unit %q", a.Unit)
		}

		// Check only int/float set
		if a.String != nil || a.Bool != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unit can not be specified on a boolean or string attribute")
		}
	}

	// Assert only one of the attributes is set
	set := 0
	if a.Float != nil {
		set++
	}
	if a.Int != nil {
		set++
	}
	if a.String != nil {
		set++
	}
	if a.Bool != nil {
		set++
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to 482b49bf1a)

Solutions

  1. Remove the unit from string/boolean attributes
  2. Keep units only on int or float attribute values
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at plugins/shared/structs/attribute.go:254 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/cad30dd55330ae56. Report an issue: GitHub.