kubernetes/kops · error

unexpected target type for deletion: %T

Error message

unexpected target type for deletion: %T

What it means

The deleteTargetGroup wrapper's Delete expects the standard AWSAPITarget; if the passed target is any other type it returns this error with the Go type. This is an internal invariant check — users should never hit it in normal kOps operation.

Source

Thrown at upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/awstasks/targetgroup.go:543

// It implements fi.CloudupDeletion
type deleteTargetGroup struct {
	obj *awsup.TargetGroupInfo
}

func buildDeleteTargetGroup(obj *awsup.TargetGroupInfo) *deleteTargetGroup {
	d := &deleteTargetGroup{}
	d.obj = obj
	return d
}

var _ fi.CloudupDeletion = (*deleteTargetGroup)(nil)

func (d *deleteTargetGroup) Delete(t fi.CloudupTarget) error {
	ctx := context.TODO()

	awsTarget, ok := t.(*awsup.AWSAPITarget)
	if !ok {
		return fmt.Errorf("unexpected target type for deletion: %T", t)
	}

	arn := d.obj.ARN
	klog.V(2).Infof("deleting target group %q", arn)
	if _, err := awsTarget.Cloud.ELBV2().DeleteTargetGroup(ctx, &elbv2.DeleteTargetGroupInput{
		TargetGroupArn: &arn,
	}); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error deleting ELB TargetGroup %q: %w", arn, err)
	}

	return nil
}

// String returns a string representation of the task
func (d *deleteTargetGroup) String() string {
	return d.TaskName() + "-" + d.Item()
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 4c8573c808)

Solutions

1. Pass an *awsup.AWSAPITarget built from the cloud to Delete
2. If in tests, construct AWSAPITarget with a mocked ELBV2/EC2 client
3. Update custom code to the current fi target API

Example fix

// before
deleteTargetGroup.Delete(myCustomTarget)
// after
awsTarget := awsup.NewAWSAPITarget(cloud)
deleteTargetGroup.Delete(awsTarget)

awsTarget, ok := t.(*awsup.AWSAPITarget)
if !ok {
  return fmt.Errorf("unexpected target type for deletion: %T", t)
}

When it happens

Trigger: kOps internal use: calling deleteTargetGroup.Delete with a target other than *awsup.AWSAPITarget (e.g. a terraform/test/dry-run target), usually only in custom code or tests.

Common situations: Custom tooling invoking fi CloudupTarget machinery directly; unit tests passing a mock target; refactoring after target interface changes.

Related errors

• error deleting TargetGroup %q: %v
• failed to attach target groups: %v
• failed to detach target groups from autoscaling group: %v
• unexpected target type for deletion: %T
• target group not yet created (arn not set)

AI-assisted analysis of kubernetes/kops@4c8573c808 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/88f7dde024fef850. Report an issue: GitHub.