hashicorp/packer · error

sbom generation is not supported on %s builds

Error message

sbom generation is not supported on %s builds

What it means

On operating systems where the Syft SDK cannot be compiled (build-tag constrained platforms), internal/sbom swaps in generator_unsupported.go whose Generator.Generate unconditionally fails with "sbom generation is not supported on %s builds", reporting runtime.GOOS. This is a compile-time capability limitation surfaced as a runtime error, not a user configuration mistake.

Source

Thrown at internal/sbom/generator_unsupported.go:17

// Copyright IBM Corp. 2013, 2025
// SPDX-License-Identifier: BUSL-1.1

//go:build netbsd || openbsd || solaris || mips || mipsle || mips64 || (freebsd && (386 || arm))

package sbom

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"runtime"
)

// Generate returns an error on platforms where the Syft SDK cannot be built.
func (g *Generator) Generate(ctx context.Context) ([]byte, error) {
	_ = ctx
	return nil, fmt.Errorf("sbom generation is not supported on %s builds", runtime.GOOS)
}

View on GitHub (pinned to eb36e3c3e4)

Solutions

1. Run Packer on a supported GOOS (linux/darwin/windows) where the syft-backed generator is compiled in
2. Skip or guard the SBOM feature with a GOOS check before invoking Generate
3. Generate the SBOM out-of-band with the syft CLI on a supported platform and feed the artifact in
4. If support for the platform is needed, upstream syft build support or adjust the build tags

Example fix

// before
sbomBytes, err := gen.Generate(ctx)
// after
if runtime.GOOS == "plan9" {
    log.Println("sbom generation unsupported on this platform; skipping")
} else {
    sbomBytes, err = gen.Generate(ctx)
}

// Compile-time note: use a build-tagged file to provide a no-op generator on unsupported GOOS
//go:build plan9 || js
// In code: check the platform before calling
unsupported := runtime.GOOS == "plan9" || runtime.GOOS == "js"

sbomBytes, err := gen.Generate(ctx)
if err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "sbom generation is not supported") {
    log.Printf("skipping SBOM on %s", runtime.GOOS)
    return nil
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Generator.Generate on a GOOS for which the syft-based generator file is excluded by build tags (e.g. building Packer for an OS/arch the syft SDK does not support). The call always returns this error on such builds regardless of config.

Common situations: Cross-compiling Packer to an exotic platform; running a community build of packer for an OS without syft support and enabling an SBOM-generating feature; CI matrices that build for unsupported GOOS values.

Related errors

• failed to get source: %w
• unsupported scope: %s
• failed to create SBOM: %w
• failed to create CycloneDX encoder: %w
• failed to create SPDX encoder: %w

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/packer@eb36e3c3e4 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d1253581ae3d4bfd. Report an issue: GitHub.