field `provision[%d].mode` cannot set skipDefaultDependencyR

Error message

field `provision[%d].mode` cannot set skipDefaultDependencyResolution, only valid on scripts of type %#q

What it means

Lima validates each `provision` entry in a LimaYAML config during `limayaml.Validate`. The `skipDefaultDependencyResolution` field is only meaningful for provisioning scripts whose `mode` is `dependency`; it tells Lima whether to skip installing the built-in default dependency list for dependency-mode scripts. Setting it on a script of any other mode (system, user, boot, data, ansible, yq) is rejected because the field would be silently ignored, so validation fails fast instead.

Source

Thrown at pkg/limayaml/validate.go:207

	// y.Firmware.LegacyBIOS is ignored for aarch64, but not a fatal error.

	for i, p := range y.Provision {
		if p.File != nil {
			if p.File.URL != "" {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].file.url` must be empty during validation (script should already be embedded)", i))
			}
			if p.File.Digest != nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].file.digest` support is not yet implemented", i))
			}
		}
		switch p.Mode {
		case limatype.ProvisionModeSystem, limatype.ProvisionModeUser, limatype.ProvisionModeBoot, limatype.ProvisionModeData, limatype.ProvisionModeDependency, limatype.ProvisionModeAnsible, limatype.ProvisionModeYQ:
		default:
			errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].mode` must one of %#q, %#q, %#q, %#q, %#q, %#q, or %#q",
				i, limatype.ProvisionModeSystem, limatype.ProvisionModeUser, limatype.ProvisionModeBoot, limatype.ProvisionModeData, limatype.ProvisionModeDependency, limatype.ProvisionModeAnsible, limatype.ProvisionModeYQ))
		}
		if p.Mode != limatype.ProvisionModeDependency && p.SkipDefaultDependencyResolution != nil {
			errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].mode` cannot set skipDefaultDependencyResolution, only valid on scripts of type %#q",
				i, limatype.ProvisionModeDependency))
		}

		if *y.OS == limatype.WINDOWS && (p.Mode == limatype.ProvisionModeAnsible || p.Mode == limatype.ProvisionModeBoot || p.Mode == limatype.ProvisionModeYQ) {
			errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("provision mode %#q is not supported on Windows VM", p.Mode))
		}

		// This can lead to fatal Panic if p.Path is nil, better to return an error here
		switch p.Mode {
		case limatype.ProvisionModeData, limatype.ProvisionModeYQ:
			if p.Path == nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].path` must not be empty when mode is %#q", i, p.Mode))
				return errs
			}
			if !path.IsAbs(*p.Path) {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].path` must be an absolute path", i))
			}
			if p.Mode == limatype.ProvisionModeData && p.Content == nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

Remove the skipDefaultDependencyResolution key from the provision entry that is not mode: dependency.
If dependency-resolution control was intended, change the entry's mode to "dependency" and keep the field.
Re-run limactl start/template validate to confirm the config passes.

Example fix

# before
provision:
  - mode: user
    script: echo hi
    skipDefaultDependencyResolution: true
# after
provision:
  - mode: user
    script: echo hi

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

for i, p := range cfg.Provision {
	if p.Mode != "dependency" && p.SkipDefaultDependencyResolution != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("provision[%d]: skipDefaultDependencyResolution requires mode: dependency", i)
	}
}

Type guard

func canSetSkipDepResolution(p limatype.Provision) bool {
	return p.Mode == limatype.ProvisionModeDependency
}

Try / catch

if err := limayaml.Validate(y, false, "config.yaml"); err != nil {
	var joined interface{ Unwrap() []error }
	if errors.As(err, &joined) { /* report each provision field error */ }
	return fmt.Errorf("invalid lima config: %w", err)
}

Prevention

Only set skipDefaultDependencyResolution inside dependency-mode blocks.
Use limactl template validate in CI on every template change.
Avoid YAML anchors that merge dependency-specific keys into other provision entries.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling any entry point that runs validation (limactl create/start/restart/edit, limactl clone/rename, limactl apply, limactl template validate/args) on a YAML where a provision entry has mode other than "dependency" but a non-nil skipDefaultDependencyResolution field, e.g. `provision: - mode: user skipDefaultDependencyResolution: false`.

Common situations: Copying the skipDefaultDependencyResolution key from a dependency-mode example into a regular script block; forgetting to also change mode to "dependency" when converting an entry; YAML anchors/merge keys that carry the field into other provision entries; editor auto-completion suggesting the field for all provision modes.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/797c3ca59ec94879. Report an issue: GitHub.