hashicorp/vagrant · error · Vagrant::Errors::VagrantfileLoadError

There was an error loading a Vagrantfile. The file being loa

Error message

There was an error loading a Vagrantfile. The file being loaded
and the error message are shown below. This is usually caused by
a syntax error.

Path: %{path}
Line number: %{line}
Message: %{exception_class}: %{message}

What it means

During config finalization Vagrant evaluates each provider-specific block (config.vm.provider "name" do |vm| ...). VMConfig#__compile_provider_configs rescues any exception raised inside such a block and re-raises VagrantfileLoadError with path '<provider config: name>', the backtrace line number, and the original class/message - the wrapped exception is the real problem.

Source

Thrown at plugins/kernel_v2/config/vm.rb:651

          begin
            blocks.each do |b|
              new_config = config_class.new
              b.call(new_config, Vagrant::Config::V2::DummyConfig.new)
              config = config.merge(new_config)
            end
          rescue Exception => e
            @logger.error("Vagrantfile load error: #{e.message}")
            @logger.error(e.inspect)
            @logger.error(e.message)
            @logger.error(e.backtrace.join("\n"))

            line = "(unknown)"
            if e.backtrace && e.backtrace[0]
              line = e.backtrace.first.slice(0, e.backtrace.first.rindex(':')).rpartition(':').last
            end

            raise Vagrant::Errors::VagrantfileLoadError,
              path: "<provider config: #{name}>",
              line: line,
              exception_class: e.class,
              message: e.message
          end

          config.finalize!

          # Store it for retrieval later
          @__compiled_provider_configs[name]   = config
        end

        # Finalize all the provisioners
        @provisioners.each do |p|
          p.config.finalize! if !p.invalid?
          p.run = p.run.to_sym if p.run
        end

View on GitHub (pinned to 35f3160f4a)

Solutions

1. Read the Message: line - the wrapped exception class and text identify the failing call in the provider block
2. Fix or remove the failing statement inside the config.vm.provider block
3. Verify the provider plugin version matches the options used (`vagrant plugin list`, `vagrant -v`) and check the changelog for renamed options
4. Re-run `vagrant validate` after the fix

Example fix

# before
config.vm.provider "docker" do |d|
  d.image = "ubuntu:22.04"
  d.build_arg = "/srv" # not a real option -> NoMethodError inside provider block
end

# after
config.vm.provider "docker" do |d|
  d.image = "ubuntu:22.04"
  d.build_args = ["/srv"]
end

# syntax + load check before running real commands
ruby -c Vagrantfile && vagrant validate

begin
  Vagrant::Environment.new(cwd: project_dir).cli("status")
rescue Vagrant::Errors::VagrantfileLoadError => e
  # path prefix '<provider config: name>' identifies which provider block failed
  abort "Provider config block failed: #{e.message}"
end

When it happens

Trigger: A config.vm.provider block that calls an undefined setter or method (NoMethodError), passes a malformed value (ArgumentError, IPAddr errors), or uses provider config API removed or renamed in the installed Vagrant version.

Common situations: Provider options that exist only in other versions (docker/hyperv/virtualbox option names changed across releases); typos in option names; referencing nil data inside the block.

Related errors

• There was an error loading a Vagrantfile. The file being loa
• There was an error loading a Vagrantfile. The file being loa
• There is a syntax error in the following Vagrantfile. The sy
• There was an error parsing the Vagrantfile: No config was gi
• There are errors in the configuration of this machine. Pleas

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/vagrant@35f3160f4a (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7cd615048cb7f6fc. Report an issue: GitHub.