ipfs/kubo · warning

batch deleting stale key %s: %w

Error message

batch deleting stale key %s: %w

What it means

Raised by deleteStaleDHTValueRecords when batch.Delete(ctx, key) fails for a specific stale DHT value record key. The wrapped message includes the offending key, pinpointing which datastore entry could not be deleted. The purge stops; already-deleted keys are counted and the operation retries on the next daemon start.

Source

Thrown at core/node/storage.go:231

	var count, pending int
	for result := range results.Next() {
		if ctx.Err() != nil {
			return count, ctx.Err()
		}
		if result.Error != nil {
			return count, fmt.Errorf("iterating datastore keys: %w", result.Error)
		}
		if !isStaleDHTValueRecordKey(result.Key) {
			continue
		}
		if batch == nil {
			batch, err = ds.Batch(ctx)
			if err != nil {
				return count, fmt.Errorf("creating delete batch: %w", err)
			}
		}
		if err := batch.Delete(ctx, datastore.NewKey(result.Key)); err != nil {
			return count, fmt.Errorf("batch deleting stale key %s: %w", result.Key, err)
		}
		count++
		pending++
		if pending >= purgeBatchSize {
			if err := batch.Commit(ctx); err != nil {
				return count, fmt.Errorf("committing delete batch: %w", err)
			}
			batch = nil
			pending = 0
		}
	}
	if pending > 0 {
		if err := batch.Commit(ctx); err != nil {
			return count, fmt.Errorf("committing delete batch: %w", err)
		}
	}
	if count > 0 {
		if err := ds.Sync(ctx, datastore.NewKey("/")); err != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to 329838acdf)

Solutions

1. Free disk space / fix I/O problems indicated by the wrapped error
2. Note the failing key from the log message and inspect datastore health around it
3. Restart the daemon to resume the purge (it retries from scratch, skipping already-deleted keys)
4. Ensure the node isn't shut down mid-migration

// ensure disk has space before deletion-heavy migrations
if freeSpace(repoPath) < minFreeBytes {
    return fmt.Errorf("insufficient space to run datastore purge")
}

count, err := deleteStaleDHTValueRecords(ctx, ds)
if err != nil {
    // error message includes the failing key: log it for triage
    log.Warnw("stale DHT purge failed", "error", err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: During the purge, a batch Delete on a matched stale key fails — typically an underlying datastore write error (disk full, I/O error, key locked by backend constraints, context cancelled).

Common situations: Disk full on the node, failing storage device, badger write errors after crash recovery, or daemon shutdown cancelling the context mid-purge.

Related errors

• creating delete batch: %w
• committing delete batch: %w
• querying datastore for stale DHT value records: %w
• iterating datastore keys: %w
• The Experimental.AcceleratedDHTClient key has been moved to

AI-assisted analysis of ipfs/kubo@329838acdf (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e736077b39bd62d0. Report an issue: GitHub.