hashicorp/terraform · error

attribute not found

Error message

attribute %q not found

What it means

Returned by pathFromFlatmapKeyObject when the leading path segment (the attribute name extracted by pathSplit) does not exist as a key in the object's attribute-types map. The decoder has built a GetAttrStep for it but cannot continue because the type of the (non-existent) attribute is unknown. This is the most common root cause surfaced through the [852] wrapper.

Solutions

1. Match the attribute name in the error against the current schema; rename the reference or restore the attribute.
2. If the attribute was legitimately removed, drop it from RequiresReplace and recompute the plan.
3. Pin the provider version so the schema and the persisted diff/RequiresReplace list stay in sync.
4. Add a schema-state compatibility test that decodes a known RequiresReplace key set against the current schema.

Example fix

// before: flatmap key 'legacy_field.nested' but schema has no 'legacy_field'
// after: either rename to the current attribute, or remove the entry
//   RequiresReplace: []cty.Path{{cty.GetAttrStep{Name: "current_field"}}}

func flatmapKeyRefersToDeclaredAttr(key string, atys map[string]cty.Type) bool {
    head, _ := pathSplit(key)
    _, ok := atys[head]
    return ok
}

func flatmapKeyRefersToDeclaredAttr(key string, atys map[string]cty.Type) bool {
    head, _ := pathSplit(key)
    _, ok := atys[head]
    return ok
}

When it happens

Trigger: Translating a flatmap key whose first dotted segment names an attribute that is not declared in the object type's AttributeTypes(). Triggered when RequiresReplace or a diff key references an attribute that the schema no longer (or never did) declare.

Common situations: Schema rename or removal of an attribute that remains referenced by RequiresReplace, a stored diff, or an old plan; merging diffs from different provider versions; custom providers that emit RequiresReplace keys without matching them to declared attributes.

Related errors

• index out of range in %#v
• invalid step with type %#v
• [ ]
• unrecognized type
• wrong number of values for

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/terraform@d32a084675 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/766a5f5bd88f1f69. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at internal/configs/hcl2shim/paths.go:115

func pathSplit(p string) (string, string) {
	parts := strings.SplitN(p, ".", 2)
	head := parts[0]
	rest := ""
	if len(parts) > 1 {
		rest = parts[1]
	}
	return head, rest
}

func pathFromFlatmapKeyObject(key string, atys map[string]cty.Type) (cty.Path, error) {
	k, rest := pathSplit(key)

	path := cty.Path{cty.GetAttrStep{Name: k}}

	ty, ok := atys[k]
	if !ok {
		return path, fmt.Errorf("attribute %q not found", k)
	}

	if rest == "" {
		return path, nil
	}

	p, err := pathFromFlatmapKeyValue(rest, ty)
	if err != nil {
		return path, err
	}

	return append(path, p...), nil
}

func pathFromFlatmapKeyValue(key string, ty cty.Type) (cty.Path, error) {
	var path cty.Path
	var err error

View on GitHub (pinned to d32a084675)