kubernetes/kops · error

error getting file stat for %q: %v

Error message

error getting file stat for %q: %v

What it means

Thrown by EnsureFileOwner when os.Lstat fails on the file whose owner/group should be enforced. The file is missing at check time (removed or not yet created), a path component is a broken symlink, or a parent directory denies search permission so stat cannot traverse.

Source

Thrown at upup/pkg/fi/files_owner.go:35

*/

package fi

import (
	"fmt"
	"os"
	"syscall"

	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
)

// EnsureFileOwner will set the owner & group for a file.
// Empty values for owner/group will leave the owner/group unchanged.
func EnsureFileOwner(destPath string, owner string, groupName string) (bool, error) {
	changed := false
	stat, err := os.Lstat(destPath)
	if err != nil {
		return changed, fmt.Errorf("error getting file stat for %q: %v", destPath, err)
	}

	actualUserID := int(stat.Sys().(*syscall.Stat_t).Uid)
	userID := actualUserID
	if owner != "" {
		user, err := LookupUser(owner) // user.Lookup(owner)
		if err != nil {
			return changed, fmt.Errorf("error looking up user %q: %v", owner, err)
		}
		if user == nil {
			return changed, fmt.Errorf("user %q not found", owner)
		}
		userID = user.Uid
	}

	actualGroupID := int(stat.Sys().(*syscall.Stat_t).Gid)
	groupID := actualGroupID
	if groupName != "" {

View on GitHub (pinned to 4c8573c808)

Solutions

1. Verify the file exists when the owner check runs; add task dependencies if it is written later
2. Fix broken symlinks on the path
3. Ensure the running user can traverse (execute bit) all parent directories

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at upup/pkg/fi/files_owner.go:35 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of kubernetes/kops@4c8573c808 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7d79b34e7ead24e9. Report an issue: GitHub.