kubernetes/kops · error

cluster not found %q

Error message

cluster not found %q

What it means

buildCredentials fetches the cluster object from the kOps state store to locate its keystore. GetCluster returned nil,nil (no cluster with that name in the state store), so buildCredentials returns this 'cluster not found' error. This means the --cluster name does not match any cluster registered in the configured KOPS_STATE_STORE.

Source

Thrown at pkg/commands/helpers/kubectl_auth.go:240

		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no credentials in cached file")
	}

	return execCredential, nil
}

func buildCredentials(ctx context.Context, f *util.Factory, options *HelperKubectlAuthOptions) (*ExecCredentialStatus, error) {
	clientset, err := f.KopsClient()
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	cluster, err := clientset.GetCluster(ctx, options.ClusterName)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	if cluster == nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cluster not found %q", options.ClusterName)
	}

	keyStore, err := clientset.KeyStore(cluster)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to get cluster keystore: %v", err)
	}

	cn := "kubecfg"
	user, err := user.Current()
	if err != nil || user == nil {
		klog.Infof("unable to get user: %v", err)
	} else {
		cn += "-" + user.Name
	}

	req := pki.IssueCertRequest{
		Signer: fi.CertificateIDCA,
		Type:   "client",

View on GitHub (pinned to 4c8573c808)

Solutions

1. Run `kops get clusters` to list valid names and fix the --cluster value.
2. Verify KOPS_STATE_STORE points to the bucket containing the cluster.
3. Recreate the kubeconfig with `kops export kubecfg <cluster>` if the cluster was deleted or renamed.

Example fix

// before
kops helpers kubectl-auth --cluster myclster.example.com
// after
kops helpers kubectl-auth --cluster mycluster.example.com

// verify the cluster exists before invoking the helper
if err := exec.Command("kops", "get", "cluster", clusterName).Run(); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("cluster %q not present in KOPS_STATE_STORE=%s", clusterName, os.Getenv("KOPS_STATE_STORE"))
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling kubectl-auth with --cluster <name> where <name> doesn't exist in the state store: typo in cluster name, wrong KOPS_STATE_STORE (S3 bucket / GCS path) selected, or cluster deleted while kubeconfig still references it.

Common situations: Old kubeconfig after cluster deletion; multiple state stores (prod vs dev buckets) with the same cluster name in only one; renamed cluster; pointing at an empty local state store with KOPS_STATE_STORE=file://....

Related errors

• error creating cluster: %v
• error replacing cluster: %v
• ClusterName is missing
• expected azureblob:// ConfigStore.Base for Azure cluster, go
• error building ConfigBase for cluster: %v

AI-assisted analysis of kubernetes/kops@4c8573c808 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2bbc5762cfc9c366. Report an issue: GitHub.