lima-vm/lima · error

invalid interface %#q for network %#q: %w

Error message

invalid interface %#q for network %#q: %w

What it means

A network's `interface` value (used for bridged networks and to derive file/socket names) must be a valid identifier; otherwise networks.Validate wraps identifiers.Validate's error with the interface and network name.

Source

Thrown at pkg/networks/validate.go:45

	// for non-bridged networks, and group defaults to "admin" when unset, so
	// only validate those when a value is actually present.
	if c.Group != "" {
		if err := identifiers.Validate(c.Group); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("invalid group %#q: %w", c.Group, err)
		}
	}
	for name, nw := range c.Networks {
		if err := identifiers.Validate(name); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("invalid network name %#q: %w", name, err)
		}
		if nw.Mode != "" {
			if err := identifiers.Validate(nw.Mode); err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("invalid mode %#q for network %#q: %w", nw.Mode, name, err)
			}
		}
		if nw.Interface != "" {
			if err := identifiers.Validate(nw.Interface); err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("invalid interface %#q for network %#q: %w", nw.Interface, name, err)
			}
		}
	}

	// validate all paths.* values
	paths := reflect.ValueOf(&c.Paths).Elem()
	pathsMap := make(map[string]string, paths.NumField())
	var socketVMNetNotFound bool
	for i := range paths.NumField() {
		// extract YAML name from struct tag; strip options like "omitempty"
		name := paths.Type().Field(i).Tag.Get("yaml")
		if i := strings.IndexRune(name, ','); i > -1 {
			name = name[:i]
		}
		path := paths.Field(i).Interface().(string)
		pathsMap[name] = path
		// varPath will be created securely, but any existing parent directories must already be secure
		if name == "varRun" {

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

1. Replace the interface value with the bare device identifier (e.g. en0, eth0) with no spaces or extra text.
2. Remove any trailing/leading whitespace in the YAML value.
3. Re-run validation after the fix.
4. If the host interface has a long display name, find its short system name via `networksetup -listallhardwareports` (macOS) or `ip link` (Linux).

Example fix

# before (networks.yaml)
networks:
  bridged-en0:
    mode: bridged
    interface: "en0: Wi-Fi"
# after
networks:
  bridged-en0:
    mode: bridged
    interface: en0

function validateInterface(iface, name) {
  if (!iface) return null;
  if (/\s/.test(iface) || !/^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*$/.test(iface)) {
    return `invalid interface '${iface}' for network ${name}: use bare device name (e.g. en0)`;
  }
  return null;
}

function isValidInterface(iface) {
  return !iface || (typeof iface === 'string' && /^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*$/.test(iface));
}

When it happens

Trigger: Setting `interface:` in networks.yaml to a value containing whitespace, slashes, or other invalid characters (e.g. a full BSD interface description with spaces) and validating the config.

Common situations: macOS bridged setups where users paste 'en0: Wi-Fi' instead of 'en0'; Windows/Linux interface names with spaces; trailing whitespace from copy-paste.

Related errors

• invalid group %#q: %w
• invalid network name %#q: %w
• invalid mode %#q for network %#q: %w
• path %#q is not an absolute path
• path %#q contains whitespace

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0cbf27b3891bb550. Report an issue: GitHub.