the iteration associated with the channel %s is revoked and

Error message

the iteration associated with the channel %s is revoked and can not be used on Packer builds

What it means

The iteration attached to the configured channel has a non-zero RevokeAt timestamp in the past, so it is revoked. The hcp-packer-iteration datasource refuses to emit iteration data for revoked iterations, preventing downstream hcp-packer-image blocks or builds from using revoked image metadata. Unlike error 41, the message names the channel rather than the iteration ID.

Source

Thrown at datasource/hcp-packer-iteration/data.go:131

		d.config.Bucket, cli.ProjectID, cli.OrganizationID, d.config.Channel)

	channel, err := cli.GetChannel(ctx, d.config.Bucket, d.config.Channel)
	if err != nil {
		return cty.NullVal(cty.EmptyObject), fmt.Errorf("error retrieving "+
			"iteration from HCP Packer registry: %s", err.Error())
	}
	if channel.Iteration == nil {
		return cty.NullVal(cty.EmptyObject), fmt.Errorf("there is no iteration associated with the channel %s",
			d.config.Channel)
	}

	iteration := channel.Iteration

	revokeAt := time.Time(iteration.RevokeAt)
	if !revokeAt.IsZero() && revokeAt.Before(time.Now().UTC()) {
		// If RevokeAt is not a zero date and is before NOW, it means this iteration is revoked and should not be used
		// to build new images.
		return cty.NullVal(cty.EmptyObject), fmt.Errorf("the iteration associated with the channel %s is revoked and can not be used on Packer builds",
			d.config.Channel)
	}

	output := DatasourceOutput{
		AuthorID:           iteration.AuthorID,
		BucketName:         iteration.BucketSlug,
		Complete:           iteration.Complete,
		CreatedAt:          iteration.CreatedAt.String(),
		Fingerprint:        iteration.Fingerprint,
		ID:                 iteration.ID,
		IncrementalVersion: iteration.IncrementalVersion,
		UpdatedAt:          iteration.UpdatedAt.String(),
		ChannelID:          channel.ID,
	}

	return hcl2helper.HCL2ValueFromConfig(output, d.OutputSpec()), nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to eb36e3c3e4)

Solutions

Repoint the channel to a newer, non-revoked iteration in the HCP Packer registry.
Update templates to use a channel that tracks current releases.
If revoked by mistake, restore/unrevoke the iteration in HCP Packer and rebuild.
Audit scheduled revocation/rollback policies that may have flipped the channel.

Example fix

// before
data "hcp-packer-iteration" "iter" {
  bucket_name = "my-app"
  channel     = "prod" // -> iteration revoked 2024-01-01
}
// after
// In HCP: repoint 'prod' to the latest valid iteration, then rebuild.
data "hcp-packer-iteration" "iter" {
  bucket_name = "my-app"
  channel     = "prod"
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Check the channel's iteration revocation before building:
// hcp packer channels show <channel> --bucket=my-app --format=json | jq -e --argjson now "$(date +%s)" '.iteration.revoke_at == null or (fromdateiso8601(.iteration.revoke_at) > $now)'

Try / catch

out=$(packer build template.pkr.hcl 2>&1) || {
  echo "$out" | grep -q 'is revoked and can not be used' && echo "Repoint channel '$CH' to a non-revoked iteration"
  exit 1
}

Prevention

Repoint channels immediately after revoking iterations.
Monitor HCP Packer revocation events and trigger channel updates automatically.
Document revocation ownership so template consumers know who maintains channels.
Prefer channels over pinned iteration IDs so updates happen in one place.

When it happens

Trigger: Execute resolves channel.Iteration successfully, then time.Time(iteration.RevokeAt) is non-zero and before time.Now().UTC(), triggering this return before building the DatasourceOutput.

Common situations: Channel still pointing at an iteration revoked via HCP Packer's revocation UI/CLI; scheduled revocations auto-triggered; CI pinned to a channel after a security rollback; forgetting that revocation affects every template referencing the channel.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/packer@eb36e3c3e4 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d7ea5ca0f7b964d2. Report an issue: GitHub.