lima-vm/lima · error

the YAML is invalid, saved the buffer as %#q: %w

Error message

the YAML is invalid, saved the buffer as %#q: %w

What it means

The normal "rejected YAML" error from `saveRejectedYAML`: the edited instance YAML failed lima's validation, but lima successfully saved the invalid buffer to `lima.REJECTED.yaml` in the current working directory so nothing is lost. The wrapped `%w` cause is the actual `limayaml.Validate` error describing which field is wrong.

Source

Thrown at cmd/limactl/edit.go:232

	if isTTY {
		message := "Do you want to start the instance now? "
		return uiutil.Confirm(message, true)
	}
	return false, nil
}

func editBashComplete(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string, _ string) ([]string, cobra.ShellCompDirective) {
	return bashCompleteInstanceNames(cmd)
}

// saveRejectedYAML writes the rejected config and returns an error.
func saveRejectedYAML(y []byte, origErr error) error {
	rejectedYAML := "lima.REJECTED.yaml"
	if writeErr := os.WriteFile(rejectedYAML, y, 0o644); writeErr != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("the YAML is invalid, attempted to save the buffer as %#q but failed: %w", rejectedYAML, errors.Join(writeErr, origErr))
	}
	// TODO: may need to support editing the rejected YAML
	return fmt.Errorf("the YAML is invalid, saved the buffer as %#q: %w", rejectedYAML, origErr)
}

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

1. Read the wrapped cause at the end of the message; fix that specific field in the editor and retry `limactl edit`.
2. Inspect the saved `lima.REJECTED.yaml` in the current directory to see exactly what was rejected, then correct it.
3. Validate offline before applying: pipe the YAML through a minimal check or compare against `templates/` examples in the lima repo.
4. If a lima upgrade removed fields, migrate per release notes (e.g. move deprecated keys to their replacements).

Example fix

// before
yaml:
  cpus: "4"          # ok
  arh: x86_64        # typo field -> validation fails

// after
yaml:
  cpus: 4
  arch: x86_64

// Validate the YAML shape yourself before submitting (Go, using lima's loader):
_, err := limayaml.Load([]byte(newYAML), "edited.yaml")
if err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("edited YAML will be rejected: %w", err)
}

if err := runEdit(inst); err != nil {
    var verr *ValidationError // or match on the wrapped cause
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "saved the buffer as") {
        rejected, _ := os.ReadFile("lima.REJECTED.yaml")
        log.Printf("rejected YAML kept at lima.REJECTED.yaml (%d bytes); fix reported field and retry", len(rejected))
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any of `limactl edit`, `limactl clone`/`rename`, `limactl restart` (with re-edit), or `limactl edit --set <yq-expr>` producing a YAML that fails validation: unknown/removed fields, invalid values (bad arch, empty required field, conflicting mounts, invalid port forwards in the config).

Common situations: Hand-editing lima.yaml and introducing a typo or unsupported field; upgrading lima so a previously valid field was removed/renamed; a `--set` yq expression producing an invalid structure; copy-pasting a template with fields unsupported on the host.

Related errors

• the YAML is invalid, attempted to save the buffer as %#q but
• failed to validate YAML file %#q: %w
• failed to validate the instance YAML after filling defaults:
• failed to validate the instance YAML after filling defaults:
• disk format %#q not supported, use `qcow2` or `raw` instead

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/11ddabfb77b75767. Report an issue: GitHub.