hashicorp/terraform · error

invalid retry_max

Error message

invalid retry_max: %s

What it means

backendbase.IntValue failed to convert the retry_max value (attribute or TF_HTTP_RETRY_MAX, default 2) to a Go int. IntValue rejects fractional numbers (e.g. 2.5), NaN/Infinity, and values outside the int range. retry_max must be a whole number.

Solutions

1. Set retry_max to a non-negative integer (e.g. retry_max = 2).
2. Remove the retry_max setting to fall back to the default of 2.
3. If sourcing from a variable, ensure its type is number and the value is integral.

Example fix

// before
retry_max = 2.5
// after
retry_max = 2

# Pre-flight: retry_max must be a non-negative integer
if [ -n "$TF_HTTP_RETRY_MAX" ]; then
  case "$TF_HTTP_RETRY_MAX" in
    ''|*[!0-9]*) echo "ERROR: retry_max must be a non-negative integer, got: $TF_HTTP_RETRY_MAX"; exit 1 ;;
  esac
fi

// In Go-land embedding this backend: validate the cty value is integral.
func isIntegral(n cty.Value) bool {
    if !n.IsKnown() || n.IsNull() { return false }
    f, _ := n.AsBigFloat().Float64()
    return n.AsBigFloat().IsInt() || f == float64(int64(f))
}

When it happens

Trigger: retry_max set to a fractional number like 2.5, an extremely large number exceeding int64, or NaN/Infinity via a computed expression.

Common situations: User sets retry_max = 2.5 assuming floats are allowed; a variable evaluates to a float; copy from documentation that used a decimal.

Related errors

• invalid retry_wait_max
• invalid retry_wait_min
• client_certificate_pem is set but client_private_key_pem is…
• client_private_key_pem is set but client_certificate_pem is…
• address must be HTTP or HTTPS

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/terraform@d32a084675 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/489f75a320d8edc3. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at internal/backend/remote-state/http/backend.go:195

			return backendbase.ErrorAsDiagnostics(
				fmt.Errorf("unlock_address must be HTTP or HTTPS"),
			)
		}
	}
	unlockMethod := backendbase.GetAttrEnvDefaultFallback(
		configVal, "unlock_method",
		"TF_HTTP_UNLOCK_METHOD", cty.StringVal("UNLOCK"),
	).AsString()

	retryMax, err := backendbase.IntValue(
		backendbase.GetAttrEnvDefaultFallback(
			configVal, "retry_max",
			"TF_HTTP_RETRY_MAX", cty.NumberIntVal(2),
		),
	)
	if err != nil {
		return backendbase.ErrorAsDiagnostics(
			fmt.Errorf("invalid retry_max: %s", err),
		)
	}
	retryWaitMin, err := backendbase.IntValue(
		backendbase.GetAttrEnvDefaultFallback(
			configVal, "retry_wait_min",
			"TF_HTTP_RETRY_WAIT_MIN", cty.NumberIntVal(1),
		),
	)
	if err != nil {
		return backendbase.ErrorAsDiagnostics(
			fmt.Errorf("invalid retry_wait_min: %s", err),
		)
	}
	retryWaitMax, err := backendbase.IntValue(
		backendbase.GetAttrEnvDefaultFallback(
			configVal, "retry_wait_max",
			"TF_HTTP_RETRY_WAIT_MAX", cty.NumberIntVal(30),
		),

View on GitHub (pinned to d32a084675)