hyperledger/fabric · error

Error writing %s to tar: %s

Error message

Error writing %s to tar: %s

What it means

GetDeploymentPayload builds a tar.gz of the chaincode sources; when util.WriteFileToPackage fails while adding a source file to the tar writer, the file name and underlying error are wrapped in this message. It indicates the package could not be produced.

Source

Thrown at core/chaincode/platforms/golang/platform.go:175

	// Create directories so they get sane ownership and permissions
	for _, dirname := range fileMap.Directories() {
		err := tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{
			Typeflag: tar.TypeDir,
			Name:     dirname + "/",
			Mode:     c_ISDIR | 0o755,
			Uid:      500,
			Gid:      500,
		})
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}
	}

	for _, file := range fileMap.Sources() {
		err = util.WriteFileToPackage(file.Path, file.Name, tw)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("Error writing %s to tar: %s", file.Name, err)
		}
	}

	err = tw.Close()
	if err == nil {
		err = gw.Close()
	}
	if err != nil {
		return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to create tar for chaincode")
	}

	return payload.Bytes(), nil
}

func (p *Platform) GenerateDockerfile() (string, error) {
	var buf []string
	buf = append(buf, "FROM "+util.GetDockerImageFromConfig("chaincode.golang.runtime"))
	buf = append(buf, "ADD binpackage.tar /usr/local/bin")

View on GitHub (pinned to 2736b63f8f)

Solutions

1. Check the wrapped %s error to identify the underlying cause (permissions, missing file, I/O).
2. Re-run the packaging step; ensure source files exist and are readable by the process.
3. Verify the file name does not exceed tar name limits or contain invalid characters.
4. Check disk space and that the output buffer/writer is valid.

for _, f := range files {
	if _, err := os.Stat(f); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("missing source: %s", f) }
}

payload, err := platform.GetDeploymentPayload(path, code)
if err != nil {
	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "Error writing") {
		// inspect wrapped cause: permissions, missing file, disk space
		return fmt.Errorf("packaging failed: %w", err)
	}
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling GetDeploymentPayload when a discovered source file cannot be written to the tar, e.g. the file disappeared between walking and writing, permission denied reading it, or the tar/gzip writer is in an error state.

Common situations: Files deleted during packaging, unreadable files due to permissions, disk-full or closed-writer errors during streaming.

Related errors

• illegal file name in payload: %s
• illegal file mode in payload: %s
• failed to create tar for chaincode
• error writing package metadata to tar
• error writing package code bytes to tar

AI-assisted analysis of hyperledger/fabric@2736b63f8f (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9f80c49e25824429. Report an issue: GitHub.