What causes "failed to get config value: %q" in ipfs/kubo?

Verify the key exists in `ipfs config show` output; remember dot-paths are case-sensitive

failed to get config value: %q

Error message

failed to get config value: %q

What it means

getConfig calls r.GetConfigKey(key) on the repo; any failure there (key missing, malformed path, IO/read error, permission problem) is wrapped as 'failed to get config value: %q'. It is the read-side counterpart of setConfig and backs `ipfs config <key>`, nodePeerID, replaceConfig, and getRemotePinningServices.

Source

Thrown at core/commands/config.go:563

	if !dryRun {
		_, err = r.BackupConfig("pre-" + configName + "-")
		if err != nil {
			return nil, nil, err
		}

		err = r.SetConfig(newCfg)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, nil, err
		}
	}

	return oldCfg, newCfg, nil
}

func getConfig(r repo.Repo, key string) (*ConfigField, error) {
	value, err := r.GetConfigKey(key)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to get config value: %q", err)
	}
	return &ConfigField{
		Key:   key,
		Value: value,
	}, nil
}

func getConfigWithAutoExpand(r repo.Repo, key string) (*ConfigField, error) {
	// First get the current value
	value, err := r.GetConfigKey(key)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to get config value: %q", err)
	}

	// Load full config for resolution
	fullCfg, err := r.Config()
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to load config: %q", err)

View on GitHub (pinned to 329838acdf)

Solutions

Verify the key exists in `ipfs config show` output; remember dot-paths are case-sensitive
Check the repo is healthy and readable: `ipfs repo stat`, file permissions on $IPFS_PATH/config
Run as the user who owns the repo; confirm IPFS_PATH points at the right repo
If the config file is corrupt, restore it from backup or re-init and `ipfs config replace`

Example fix

// before
$ ipfs config Addresses.Nonexistent
cd: failed to get config value: "no such key"
// after
$ ipfs config show | jq '.Addresses'
$ ipfs config Addresses.API  # use an existing path

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

ipfs config "$key" >/dev/null 2>&1 || echo "key missing or repo unreadable"

Type guard

func getConfigString(r repo.Repo, key string) (string, bool) {
	f, err := getConfig(r, key)
	if err != nil { return "", false }
	s, ok := f.Value.(string)
	return s, ok
}

Try / catch

f, err := getConfig(repo, key)
if err != nil {
	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "failed to get config value") {
		// fall back to config defaults or skip this key
	}
	return err
}

Prevention

Check key paths against `ipfs config show` before reading them in scripts
Ensure the process user can read $IPFS_PATH/config and IPFS_PATH is set correctly
Run `ipfs repo stat`/repo fsck when reads start failing after crashes
Monitor repo health in automation

When it happens

Trigger: `ipfs config <nonexistent.key>`; reading a nested key where an intermediate segment is not a map; offline command when the repo config file is unreadable/corrupt; caller functions setConfig/nodePeerID/replaceConfig/getRemotePinningServices hitting the same read failure.

Common situations: Typos in key paths; expecting a default that is not materialized in the config file; running CLI as wrong user so the config file is unreadable; repo partially initialized or corrupted; remote pinning services lookup against broken config.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of ipfs/kubo@329838acdf (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f4ee69f22476e5b3. Report an issue: GitHub.