kubernetes/kops · error

error building tasks: %v

Error message

error building tasks: %v

What it means

Run calls l.BuildTasks(ctx, c.LifecycleOverrides) to construct the full task map (the dependency graph of cloud resources). Any failure inside task construction is wrapped as 'error building tasks'. This is a wrapper around deeper errors — the underlying cause (bad spec field, asset problem, template issue) is in the wrapped %v.

Source

Thrown at upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/apply_cluster.go:740

		case kops.CloudProviderLinode:
			linodeModelContext := &linodemodel.LinodeModelContext{
				KopsModelContext: modelContext,
			}
			l.Builders = append(l.Builders,
				&linodemodel.NetworkModelBuilder{LinodeModelContext: linodeModelContext, Lifecycle: networkLifecycle},
				&linodemodel.InstanceModelBuilder{LinodeModelContext: linodeModelContext, BootstrapScriptBuilder: bootstrapScriptBuilder, Lifecycle: clusterLifecycle, SSHKeyLifecycle: securityLifecycle},
			)

		case kops.CloudProviderMetal:
			// No special builders for bare metal (yet)

		default:
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown cloudprovider %q", cluster.GetCloudProvider())
		}
	}
	c.TaskMap, err = l.BuildTasks(ctx, c.LifecycleOverrides)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error building tasks: %v", err)
	}

	var target fi.CloudupTarget
	shouldPrecreateDNS := true

	deletionProcessingMode := c.DeletionProcessing
	switch c.TargetName {
	case TargetDirect:
		switch cluster.GetCloudProvider() {
		case kops.CloudProviderGCE:
			target = gce.NewGCEAPITarget(cloud.(gce.GCECloud))
		case kops.CloudProviderAWS:
			target = awsup.NewAWSAPITarget(cloud.(awsup.AWSCloud))
		case kops.CloudProviderDO:
			target = do.NewDOAPITarget(cloud.(do.DOCloud))
		case kops.CloudProviderHetzner:
			target = hetzner.NewHetznerAPITarget(cloud.(hetzner.HetznerCloud))
		case kops.CloudProviderOpenstack:

View on GitHub (pinned to 4c8573c808)

Solutions

1. Read the full error output — the inner wrapped error names the actual failing task/field
2. Validate the spec: `kops validate cluster` or inspect `kops get ig -o yaml` for bad values
3. Try a newer/older kOps version if this started after an upgrade; file an issue with the inner error if it looks like a bug

Example fix

// inspect the real cause
kops update cluster --name x --v=10 2>&1 | grep -A5 'error building tasks'
// fix the inner issue, e.g. bad zone in instance group, then rerun

kops get cluster "$NAME" -o yaml && kops get ig --name "$NAME" -o yaml  # eyeball spec fields before apply

taskMap, err := l.BuildTasks(ctx, overrides); if err != nil { log.Errorf("task build failed, inner cause: %v", errors.Unwrap(err)); return err }

When it happens

Trigger: `kops update cluster` where a builder produced tasks referencing invalid data — e.g. malformed cluster spec, missing AMI/asset, or a builder returning an error.

Common situations: Invalid instance group or cluster spec values that only surface during task building; asset-builder failures with custom assets; bugs after kOps upgrades changing task contracts.

Related errors

• error running tasks: %v
• failed to apply objects: %w
• not all objects were applied
• updating %q: %w
• failed to marshal object to JSON: %w

AI-assisted analysis of kubernetes/kops@4c8573c808 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/42cc494e499e0df0. Report an issue: GitHub.