lima-vm/lima · error

cannot execute template %#q: %w

Error message

cannot execute template %#q: %w

What it means

The message template parsed and data was built, but tmpl.Execute failed while rendering into the message builder. This typically means the template references a field or method that does not exist on the data at execution time; the instance is marked StatusBroken.

Source

Thrown at pkg/store/instance.go:139

	}

	inspectStatus(ctx, instDir, inst, y)

	tmpl, err := template.New("format").Parse(y.Message)
	if err != nil {
		inst.Errors = append(inst.Errors, fmt.Errorf("message %#q is not a valid template: %w", y.Message, err))
		inst.Status = limatype.StatusBroken
	} else {
		data, err := AddGlobalFields(inst)
		if err != nil {
			inst.Errors = append(inst.Errors, fmt.Errorf("cannot add global fields to instance data: %w", err))
			inst.Status = limatype.StatusBroken
		} else {
			data.Param = y.Param
			var message strings.Builder
			err = tmpl.Execute(&message, data)
			if err != nil {
				inst.Errors = append(inst.Errors, fmt.Errorf("cannot execute template %#q: %w", y.Message, err))
				inst.Status = limatype.StatusBroken
			} else {
				inst.Message = message.String()
			}
		}
	}

	limaVersionFile := filepath.Join(instDir, filenames.LimaVersion)
	if version, err := os.ReadFile(limaVersionFile); err == nil {
		inst.LimaVersion = strings.TrimSpace(string(version))
		if _, err = versionutil.Parse(inst.LimaVersion); err != nil {
			logrus.Warnf("treating lima version %#q from %#q as very latest release", inst.LimaVersion, limaVersionFile)
		}
	} else if !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
		inst.Errors = append(inst.Errors, err)
	}
	inst.Param = y.Param
	return inst, nil

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

1. Remove or correct the unknown field reference in the message template in ~/.lima/<inst>/lima.yaml
2. Check `limactl list --list-flags` / docs for valid format fields
3. Update deprecated host attributes to the new top-level fields (removed in Lima 3.0)
4. Recreate the instance with a known-good template

Example fix

// before
message: "{{ .SSHConfigFile }} on {{ .BogusField }}"
// after
message: "{{ .SSHConfigFile }}"

// Only reference known FormatData fields
tmpl, err := template.New("f").Parse(y.Message)
if err == nil {
    data, _ := store.AddGlobalFields(&limatype.Instance{})
    if err := tmpl.Execute(io.Discard, data); err != nil {
        // unknown field referenced; fix before Inspect
    }
}

inst, err := store.Inspect(ctx, instDir)
if inst.Status == limatype.StatusBroken {
    for _, e := range inst.Errors {
        if strings.Contains(e.Error(), "cannot execute template") {
            // fix the field names in the message template
        }
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: y.Message template references a missing/nonexistent field or calls a method that returns an error during Execute, e.g. {{ .NoSuchField }} or a nil-pointer method call in FormatData.

Common situations: Template written for a newer/older Lima FormatData schema (field removed in Lima 3.0 deprecations); typo in field name; using a deprecated host attribute removed from the data model.

Related errors

• message %#q is not a valid template: %w
• cannot add global fields to instance data: %w
• invalid value for static parameter: %#q
• invalid parameter %#q, expected `static=` followed by a bool
• invalid parameter %#q, expected NAME=VALUE

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/176eb296e3b52563. Report an issue: GitHub.