kubernetes/kops · error

error parsing file %q: %v

Error message

error parsing file %q: %v

What it means

RunCreate splits each input file into YAML sections and decodes them with the kops codecs; this fires when a section cannot be decoded as a known kops object. The file was read successfully, so the problem is its content: invalid YAML structure or an unrecognized kind.

Source

Thrown at cmd/kops/create.go:129

	for _, f := range c.Filenames {
		var contents []byte
		if f == "-" {
			contents, err = ConsumeStdin()
			if err != nil {
				return err
			}
		} else {
			contents, err = vfsContext.ReadFile(f)
			if err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("error reading file %q: %v", f, err)
			}
		}
		// TODO: this does not support a JSON array
		sections := text.SplitContentToSections(contents)
		for _, section := range sections {
			o, gvk, err := kopscodecs.Decode(section, nil)
			if err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("error parsing file %q: %v", f, err)
			}

			switch v := o.(type) {
			case *kopsapi.Cluster:
				cloud, err := cloudup.BuildCloud(v)
				if err != nil {
					return err
				}

				// Adding a PerformAssignments() call here as the user might be trying to use
				// the new `-f` feature, with an old cluster definition.
				err = cloudup.PerformAssignments(v, vfsContext, cloud)
				if err != nil {
					return fmt.Errorf("error populating configuration: %v", err)
				}
				_, err = clientset.CreateCluster(ctx, v)
				if err != nil {
					if apierrors.IsAlreadyExists(err) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 4c8573c808)

Solutions

1. Validate the YAML/JSON syntax (yamllint) and ensure each document has a kops apiVersion and kind (e.g. kops.k8s.io/v1alpha2, Cluster)
2. Match the manifest schema to your kops CLI version; upgrade kops if the file uses newer fields
3. Test decode with `kops toolbox dump` or `kops get -f` round-trip; fix fields flagged in the wrapped error message

Example fix

// before
kind: Cluser
apiVersion: v1alpha2
// after
kind: Cluster
apiVersion: kops.k8s.io/v1alpha2

// validate syntax and required headers before kops create
sections := text.SplitContentToSections(contents)
for _, s := range sections {
    var probe map[string]interface{}
    if err := yaml.Unmarshal(s, &probe); err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("invalid YAML: %v", err)
    }
    if probe["kind"] == nil || probe["apiVersion"] == nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("manifest missing kind/apiVersion")
    }
}

if _, _, err := kopscodecs.Decode(section, nil); err != nil {
    // print offending section and schema version expected by kops
    log.Printf("decode failed for %q: %v", f, err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: `kops create -f` given a manifest that is not a valid kops resource: wrong apiVersion/kind, invalid YAML/JSON syntax, unknown fields causing strict decode failure, or a spec from a newer kOps version.

Common situations: Hand-written cluster/instancegroup YAML with indentation errors; manifests exported from a newer kOps; using a Kubernetes resource YAML (e.g. a Deployment) instead of a kops resource; missing kind or apiVersion.

Understand the failure class

Background: Schema validation failed / invalid input schema: payload rejected because its shape doesn't match the expected schema — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• error parsing yaml: %v
• error parsing InstanceGroup: %v
• unable decode the configuration file: %s, error: %v
• error parsing addons or manifest: %v
• error parsing addons: %v

AI-assisted analysis of kubernetes/kops@4c8573c808 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/158de1b09106bbfa. Report an issue: GitHub.