Could not run remote script on guest because it does not…

Error message

Could not run remote script on guest because it does not exist.

What it means

run_remote executes a shell-provisioner config on the guest (trigger option run_remote). When @machine is nil — the environment has no machine — there is nothing to run on: with on_error :halt it raises Errors::TriggersGuestNotExist; otherwise it warns with the shared triggers_guest_not_exist text ('Could not run remote script on guest because it does not exist.') plus the continue warning, then returns. The message is the locale text for this condition.

Solutions

Create/boot the machine first (vagrant up) so run_remote has a target
Scope guest triggers to lifecycle points where the machine exists, e.g. after :up rather than before :up
Use host-side run triggers for commands that must fire regardless of machine state
Accept the warning if nonexistence is expected and harmless in your flow

Example fix

# before
config.trigger.before :destroy do |t|
  t.run_remote = { inline: "echo bye" }  # machine gone at destroy time
end

# after
config.trigger.before :destroy do |t|
  t.run = { inline: "echo bye from host" }  # host-side, always runnable
end

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# guard guest triggers on machine existence in tooling
return if machine.nil? || machine.state.id == :not_created

Type guard

def guest_trigger_runnable?(machine)
  !machine.nil? && machine.state.id == :running
end

Try / catch

begin
  trigger.run_remote(config, :halt, exit_codes)
rescue Vagrant::Errors::TriggersGuestNotExist
  ui.warn("skipping guest trigger: machine does not exist (not created yet)")
end

Prevention

Scope run_remote triggers to after :up or other points where the machine exists
Use host-side run triggers for must-fire commands
When testing triggers standalone, boot the machine first or expect this warning

When it happens

Trigger: A trigger with run_remote = { inline: ... } firing in a context where the machine doesn't exist yet or anymore: `vagrant triggers run` outside an up'd environment, destroy-time triggers, or before-create lifecycle points — with on_error != :halt downgrading the raise to this warning.

Common situations: Guest triggers scoped to commands that run before creation or after destruction; running standalone `vagrant triggers run` for testing; shared Vagrantfiles where guest triggers fire on machines never booted.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/vagrant@35f3160f4a (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/97b96ed907a5f5f1. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at lib/vagrant/plugin/v2/trigger.rb:306

              @logger.debug("Trigger run encountered an error. Halting on error...")
              raise e
            else
              @logger.debug("Trigger run encountered an error. Continuing on anyway...")
              @ui.warn(I18n.t("vagrant.trigger.on_error_continue"))
            end
          end
        end

        # Runs a script on the guest
        #
        # @param [ShellProvisioner/Config] config A Shell provisioner config
        def run_remote(config, on_error, exit_codes)
          if !@machine
            # machine doesn't even exist.
            if on_error == :halt
              raise Errors::TriggersGuestNotExist
            else
              @ui.warn(I18n.t("vagrant.errors.triggers_guest_not_exist"))
              @ui.warn(I18n.t("vagrant.trigger.on_error_continue"))
              return
            end
          elsif @machine.state.id != :running
            if on_error == :halt
              raise Errors::TriggersGuestNotRunning,
                machine_name: @machine.name,
                state: @machine.state.id
            else
              @machine.ui.error(I18n.t("vagrant.errors.triggers_guest_not_running",
                                        machine_name: @machine.name,
                                        state: @machine.state.id))
              @machine.ui.warn(I18n.t("vagrant.trigger.on_error_continue"))
              return
            end
          end

          prov = VagrantPlugins::Shell::Provisioner.new(@machine, config)

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