field `provision[%d].permissions` can only be set when mode

Error message

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

What it means

`permissions` is an octal mode applied to files written by data-mode or edited by yq-mode provision entries. Validate() rejects it on all other modes (system/user/boot/dependency/ansible) since scripts set their own file modes. The rendered message lists `"data"` and `"yq"` as the allowed modes.

Source

Thrown at pkg/limayaml/validate.go:252

			}
		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))
			}
			playbook := p.Playbook
			if _, err := os.Stat(playbook); err != nil {
				errs = errors.Join(errs, fmt.Errorf("field `provision[%d].playbook` refers to an inaccessible path: %#q: %w", i, playbook, err))
			}
			logrus.Warnf("provision mode %#q is deprecated, use `ansible-playbook %#q` instead", limatype.ProvisionModeAnsible, playbook)
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

Set `mode: data` or `mode: yq` (with `path`) if permissions are intended
Delete the `permissions` field from the script entry
Use `chmod` inside the `script` instead

Example fix

# before
provision:
  - mode: dependency
    permissions: "0755"
    script: dep install
# after
provision:
  - mode: dependency
    script: dep install && chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/dep

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Go: permissions requires data or yq mode
for i, p := range cfg.Provision {
    mode := limatype.ProvisionModeSystem
    if p.Mode != nil { mode = *p.Mode }
    if p.Permissions != nil && mode != limatype.ProvisionModeData && mode != limatype.ProvisionModeYQ {
        return fmt.Errorf("provision[%d]: permissions requires mode data or yq", i)
    }
}

Type guard

func permissionsAllowed(p limatype.Provision) bool {
    if p.Permissions == nil { return true }
    return p.Mode != nil && (*p.Mode == limatype.ProvisionModeData || *p.Mode == limatype.ProvisionModeYQ)
}

Prevention

Use chmod in scripts for script-mode file permissions
Keep permissions quoted and octal ("0644")
Pair permissions with path+content (data) or path+expression (yq)

When it happens

Trigger: A provision entry with a mode other than data/yq that sets `permissions`, during create/start/restart/edit/apply/template validation.

Common situations: Copy-pasted data-entry field sets applied to script entries; template generators emitting permissions unconditionally; converting a data entry to dependency mode and keeping permissions.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ff9536576f903628. Report an issue: GitHub.