kubernetes/kops · error

unable to expand the template: %s, error: %s

Error message

unable to expand the template: %s, error: %s

What it means

Returned by RunToolBoxTemplate of `kops toolbox template` when expandFiles() fails to expand one of the --template-path globs/paths into concrete files. The path is first passed through utils.ExpandPath (~ expansion), so the failure typically means the glob matched nothing or the path is unreadable/not a valid template file. The offending path and underlying error are embedded in the message.

Source

Thrown at cmd/kops/toolbox_template.go:147

	// @check if we are just rendering the config value
	if options.configValue != "" {
		v, found := context[options.configValue]
		switch found {
		case true:
			fmt.Fprintf(out, "%v\n", v)
		default:
			fmt.Fprintf(out, "null\n")
		}
		return nil
	}

	// @step: expand the list of templates into a list of files to render
	var templates []string
	for _, x := range options.templatePath {
		list, err := expandFiles(utils.ExpandPath(x))
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to expand the template: %s, error: %s", x, err)
		}
		templates = append(templates, list...)
	}

	snippets := make(map[string]string)
	for _, x := range options.snippetsPath {
		list, err := expandFiles(utils.ExpandPath(x))
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to expand the snippets: %s, error: %s", x, err)
		}

		for _, j := range list {
			content, err := os.ReadFile(j)
			if err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("unable to read snippet: %s, error: %s", j, err)
			}
			snippets[path.Base(j)] = string(content)
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 4c8573c808)

Solutions

1. Verify the path exists: ls the --template-path value from the same working directory the command runs in
2. Use absolute paths or check the current directory; remember ~ is expanded but plain relative paths are cwd-dependent
3. If using a glob, confirm it actually matches files (test with `ls <glob>`)
4. Check file/directory read permissions for the user running kops
5. Ensure templates are present in CI containers/images before the toolbox command runs

Example fix

// before
kops toolbox template --template-path ./templaes --snippets ./snippets --values values.yaml

// after
kops toolbox template --template-path ./templates --snippets ./snippets --values values.yaml

for _, p := range templatePaths {
    expanded := utils.ExpandPath(p)
    matches, err := filepath.Glob(expanded)
    if err != nil || len(matches) == 0 {
        return fmt.Errorf("template path %q matches no files", p)
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: `kops toolbox template --template-path ./templates` (or a glob like ./templates/*.yaml) where the directory/file does not exist, the glob matches zero files, the path lacks read permission, or expandFiles encounters a filesystem error walking the path.

Common situations: Running the command from the wrong working directory so relative template paths don't resolve; typo in --template-path; glob pattern with no matches; templates directory not checked out / mounted in CI; missing read permissions.

Related errors

• unable to expand the snippets: %s, error: %s
• error reading user provided private key %q: %v
• reading encryption config %v: %v
• error reading SSH public key %v: %v
• reading file %q: %v

AI-assisted analysis of kubernetes/kops@4c8573c808 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0caf57652e5ad2e1. Report an issue: GitHub.