What causes "--name is required" in kubernetes/kops?

Add the flag: `kops get keypairs --name `.

--name is required

Error message

--name is required

What it means

The `kops get keypair(s)` command requires a cluster name. In the command's Args validator, options.ClusterName is taken from rootCommand.ClusterName(true); if it is empty (no --name flag, no KOPS_CLUSTER_NAME, and no cluster state in the current directory), the command aborts with "--name is required" before doing any work.

Source

Thrown at cmd/kops/get_keypairs.go:68

type GetKeypairsOptions struct {
	*GetOptions
	KeysetNames []string
	Distrusted  bool
}

func NewCmdGetKeypairs(f *util.Factory, out io.Writer, getOptions *GetOptions) *cobra.Command {
	options := &GetKeypairsOptions{
		GetOptions: getOptions,
	}
	cmd := &cobra.Command{
		Use:     "keypairs [KEYSET]...",
		Aliases: []string{"keypair"},
		Short:   getKeypairShort,
		Example: getKeypairExample,
		Args: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
			options.ClusterName = rootCommand.ClusterName(true)
			if options.ClusterName == "" {
				return fmt.Errorf("--name is required")
			}

			options.KeysetNames = args
			return nil
		},
		ValidArgsFunction: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, toComplete string) ([]string, cobra.ShellCompDirective) {
			return completeGetKeypairs(cmd.Context(), f, options, args, toComplete)
		},
		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
			return RunGetKeypairs(cmd.Context(), f, out, options)
		},
	}

	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&options.Distrusted, "distrusted", options.Distrusted, "Include distrusted keypairs")

	return cmd
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 4c8573c808)

Solutions

Add the flag: `kops get keypairs --name <cluster.k8s.local>`.
Set the environment variable: `export KOPS_CLUSTER_NAME=<cluster.k8s.local>`.
Run the command from the cluster's state directory so the cluster name can be detected.
Verify the cluster name with `kops get clusters` and use the exact name.

Example fix

// before
kops get keypair ca
// after
kops get keypair ca --name mycluster.k8s.local

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

CLUSTER="${KOPS_CLUSTER_NAME:-mycluster.k8s.local}"
[ -n "$CLUSTER" ] || { echo "set --name or KOPS_CLUSTER_NAME" >&2; exit 2; }
kops get keypairs --name "$CLUSTER"

Try / catch

if err := runKops("get", "keypairs", "--name", cluster); err != nil {
	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "--name is required") {
		return fmt.Errorf("cluster name missing: pass --name or set KOPS_CLUSTER_NAME")
	}
	return err
}

Prevention

Always pass --name explicitly in scripts instead of relying on cwd detection.
Export KOPS_CLUSTER_NAME in shell profiles and CI environments.
Run `kops get clusters` to confirm the exact cluster name first.
Execute keypair commands from the intended cluster directory or with absolute flags.

When it happens

Trigger: Running `kops get keypair` (or `kops get keypairs`) outside a cluster directory without passing `--name <cluster>` and without the KOPS_CLUSTER_NAME environment variable set.

Common situations: Running from a directory that is not a kOps cluster root after a `cd`; forgetting to export KOPS_CLUSTER_NAME in CI; new team members following docs that assume the in-cluster context.

Understand the failure class

Background: "--flag is required" and "must specify" CLI errors: how missing-required-flag validation works and how to fix it — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of kubernetes/kops@4c8573c808 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/01eb1ceb5ca87bdc. Report an issue: GitHub.