ipfs/kubo · error

'name' field was missing or not a string

Error message

'name' field was missing or not a string

What it means

LogDatastoreConfig reads params["name"] to label log events emitted by the wrapping datastore. When "name" is absent or not a string, the wrapper cannot be identified in logs, so the error is returned.

Source

Thrown at repo/fsrepo/datastores.go:197

type logDatastoreConfig struct {
	child DatastoreConfig
	name  string
}

// LogDatastoreConfig returns a log DatastoreConfig from a spec.
func LogDatastoreConfig(params map[string]any) (DatastoreConfig, error) {
	childField, ok := params["child"].(map[string]any)
	if !ok {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("'child' field is missing or not a map")
	}
	child, err := AnyDatastoreConfig(childField)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	name, ok := params["name"].(string)
	if !ok {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("'name' field was missing or not a string")
	}
	return &logDatastoreConfig{child, name}, nil
}

func (c *logDatastoreConfig) Create(path string) (repo.Datastore, error) {
	child, err := c.child.Create(path)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	return ds.NewLogDatastore(child, c.name), nil
}

func (c *logDatastoreConfig) DiskSpec() DiskSpec {
	return c.child.DiskSpec()
}

type measureDatastoreConfig struct {
	child  DatastoreConfig

View on GitHub (pinned to 329838acdf)

Solutions

1. Add "name" as a string to the log datastore spec (e.g. "name": "datastore-log")
2. Coerce or fix the value so it is a Go string in the spec map

Example fix

// before
spec := map[string]any{"type": "log", "child": childSpec}
// after
spec := map[string]any{"type": "log", "name": "dslog", "child": childSpec}

n, ok := params["name"].(string)
if !ok || n == "" { /* add name before calling */ }

func logName(params map[string]any) (string, bool) {
	n, ok := params["name"].(string)
	return n, ok && n != ""
}

ds, err := fsrepo.LogDatastoreConfig(spec)
if err != nil {
	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "'name' field") {
		return fmt.Errorf("log spec requires a name: %w", err)
	}
	return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling LogDatastoreConfig with a valid "child" but where params["name"] is missing, nil, or a non-string value (e.g. a number).

Common situations: Spec of type "log" with "child" filled in but the "name" field forgotten; name provided as a non-string in programmatically built maps.

Related errors

• 'mounts' field is missing or not an array
• expected map for mountpoint
• no 'mountpoint' on mount
• 'child' field is missing or not a map
• 'prefix' field was missing or not a string

AI-assisted analysis of ipfs/kubo@329838acdf (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fe9a49a460a9270d. Report an issue: GitHub.