lima-vm/lima · error

invalid value for static parameter: %#q

Error message

invalid value for static parameter: %#q

What it means

ParsePortForward parses a --port-forward flag value of the form HOST:GUEST or HOST:GUEST,static=true. When the optional second comma-separated segment starts with `static=`, the remainder must be a valid Go boolean (strconv.ParseBool accepts 1,0,t,f,true,false,TRUE,FALSE...). This error is returned when the text after `static=` is not parseable as a bool.

Source

Thrown at cmd/limactl/editflags/editflags.go:158

	parts := strings.Split(spec, ",")
	if len(parts) > 2 {
		return "", "", false, fmt.Errorf("invalid port forward format %#q, expected HOST:GUEST or HOST:GUEST,static=true", spec)
	}

	portParts := strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(parts[0]), ":")
	if len(portParts) != 2 {
		return "", "", false, fmt.Errorf("invalid port forward format %#q, expected HOST:GUEST", parts[0])
	}

	hostPort = strings.TrimSpace(portParts[0])
	guestPort = strings.TrimSpace(portParts[1])

	if len(parts) == 2 {
		staticPart := strings.TrimSpace(parts[1])
		if staticValue, ok := strings.CutPrefix(staticPart, "static="); ok {
			isStatic, err = strconv.ParseBool(staticValue)
			if err != nil {
				return "", "", false, fmt.Errorf("invalid value for static parameter: %#q", staticValue)
			}
		} else {
			return "", "", false, fmt.Errorf("invalid parameter %#q, expected `static=` followed by a boolean value", staticPart)
		}
	}

	return hostPort, guestPort, isStatic, nil
}

func BuildPortForwardExpression(portForwards []string) (string, error) {
	if len(portForwards) == 0 {
		return "", nil
	}

	ports := make([]string, len(portForwards))
	for i, spec := range portForwards {
		hostPort, guestPort, isStatic, err := ParsePortForward(spec)
		if err != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

1. Use a Go-parseable boolean: true/false/1/0/t/f/T/F/TRUE/FALSE (e.g. --port-forward 8080:80,static=true)
2. Check for typos or whitespace in the value after static=
3. If you need yes/no semantics, normalize the value before passing it in

Example fix

// before
limactl create --port-forward '8080:80,static=yes'
// after
limactl create --port-forward '8080:80,static=true'

func validStaticValue(v string) bool {
	_, err := strconv.ParseBool(v)
	return err == nil
}
// spec := "8080:80,static=true"
// if parts := strings.Split(spec, ","); len(parts) == 2 {
// 	if sv, ok := strings.CutPrefix(strings.TrimSpace(parts[1]), "static="); !ok || !validStaticValue(sv) {
// 		return fmt.Errorf("bad port-forward spec %q", spec)
// 	}
// }

func isParseableBool(s string) bool {
	_, err := strconv.ParseBool(s)
	return err == nil
}

hostPort, guestPort, isStatic, err := editflags.ParsePortForward(spec)
if err != nil {
	return fmt.Errorf("--port-forward %q rejected: %w (use HOST:GUEST[,static=true|false])", spec, err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling ParsePortForward (directly or via BuildPortForwardExpression from limactl edit/create --port-forward) with a spec like '8080:80,static=yes', '8080:80,static=', or '8080:80,static=on' — any non-boolean value after static=.

Common situations: Users typing shell-style truthy words (yes/no/on/off) instead of Go booleans; typos like 'static=tue'; scripts interpolating empty variables producing 'static='; copying examples from other tools that use yes/no.

Related errors

• invalid parameter %#q, expected `static=` followed by a bool
• invalid port forward format %#q, expected HOST:GUEST or HOST
• invalid port forward format %#q, expected HOST:GUEST
• invalid parameter %#q, expected NAME=VALUE
• template does not define param %#q

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/58418b0773458df7. Report an issue: GitHub.