field `provision[%d].owner` can only be set when mode is %#q

Error message

field `provision[%d].owner` can only be set when mode is %#q

What it means

`owner` specifies the user that owns a file written by a data-mode provision entry, so it is only valid when `mode` is "data". Validate() rejects `owner` on any other mode to prevent silently ignored fields. The rendered message names `"data"` as the allowed mode.

Source

Thrown at pkg/limayaml/validate.go:246

			if p.Mode == limatype.ProvisionModeYQ && p.Expression == nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].expression` must not be empty when mode is %#q", i, p.Mode))
			}
			// FillDefaults makes sure that p.Permissions is not nil
			if _, err := strconv.ParseInt(*p.Permissions, 8, 64); err != nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].permissions` must be an octal number: %w", i, err))
			}
		default:
			if (p.Script == nil || *p.Script == "") && p.Mode != limatype.ProvisionModeAnsible {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].script` must not be empty", i))
			}
			if p.Content != nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].content` can only be set when mode is %#q", i, limatype.ProvisionModeData))
			}
			if p.Overwrite != nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].overwrite` can only be set when mode is %#q", i, limatype.ProvisionModeData))
			}
			if p.Owner != nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].owner` can only be set when mode is %#q", i, limatype.ProvisionModeData))
			}
			if p.Path != nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].path` can only be set when mode is %#q, or %#q", i, limatype.ProvisionModeData, limatype.ProvisionModeYQ))
			}
			if p.Permissions != nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].permissions` can only be set when mode is %#q, or %#q", i, limatype.ProvisionModeData, limatype.ProvisionModeYQ))
			}
			if p.Format != nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].format` can only be set when mode is %#q", i, limatype.ProvisionModeYQ))
			}
		}
		if p.Playbook != "" {
			if p.Mode != limatype.ProvisionModeAnsible {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].playbook can only be set when mode is %#q", i, limatype.ProvisionModeAnsible))
			}
			if p.Script != nil && *p.Script != "" {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].script must be empty if playbook is set", i))
			}

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

Add `mode: data` (plus `path`/`content`) if you need `owner` for a written file
Delete the `owner` field from the non-data entry
Use `sudo`/`chown` inside a `script` entry instead of `owner`

Example fix

# before
provision:
  - mode: user
    owner: root
    script: echo hi
# after
provision:
  - mode: user
    script: echo hi
# or, if ownership of a file is needed:
# provision:
#   - mode: data
#     path: /etc/file
#     content: hi
#     owner: root

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Go: owner is data-mode only
for i, p := range cfg.Provision {
    mode := limatype.ProvisionModeSystem
    if p.Mode != nil { mode = *p.Mode }
    if p.Owner != nil && mode != limatype.ProvisionModeData {
        return fmt.Errorf("provision[%d]: owner requires mode data", i)
    }
}

Type guard

func ownerAllowed(p limatype.Provision) bool {
    return p.Owner == nil || (p.Mode != nil && *p.Mode == limatype.ProvisionModeData)
}

Prevention

Use owner only on data entries that write files
For running scripts as another user, use sudo/chown inside the script
Keep a mode/field cheat sheet in template docs

When it happens

Trigger: A provision entry with mode system/user/boot/dependency/ansible/yq (or unset) that sets `owner`, during create/start/restart/edit/apply/template validation.

Common situations: Wanting a script to run as root and mistakenly using `owner` (scripts have their own run-as semantics via mode); copying data-entry fields into script entries; templating that emits owner globally.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/95023ac07b9411c3. Report an issue: GitHub.