lima-vm/lima · warning

%w: archVariant mismatch (expected %q, got %q)

Error message

%w: archVariant mismatch (expected %q, got %q)

What it means

Analogous to the variant mismatch, but for --arch-variant: each image whose ArchVariant field differs from the requested targetArchVariant is skipped with a fileutils.ErrSkipped "archVariant mismatch" error and collected in errs.

Source

Thrown at pkg/instance/start.go:127

			if img.Arch == *inst.Config.Arch {
				targetVariant = img.Variant
				targetArchVariant = img.ArchVariant
				targetVariantSet = true
				break
			}
		}

		if len(inst.Config.Images) == 0 {
			return nil, errors.New("no images are configured (did you set --image-variant or --arch-variant to a value not present in the template?)")
		}
		errs := make([]error, len(inst.Config.Images))
		for i, f := range inst.Config.Images {
			if targetVariantSet && f.Variant != targetVariant {
				errs[i] = fmt.Errorf("%w: variant mismatch (expected %q, got %q)", fileutils.ErrSkipped, targetVariant, f.Variant)
				continue
			}
			if targetVariantSet && f.ArchVariant != targetArchVariant {
				errs[i] = fmt.Errorf("%w: archVariant mismatch (expected %q, got %q)", fileutils.ErrSkipped, targetArchVariant, f.ArchVariant)
				continue
			}
			if _, err := fileutils.DownloadFile(ctx, imagePath, f.File, true, "the image", *inst.Config.Arch, supportedImageFormats); err != nil {
				errs[i] = err
				continue
			}
			if f.Kernel != nil {
				// ensure decompress kernel because vz expects it to be decompressed
				if _, err := fileutils.DownloadFile(ctx, kernel, f.Kernel.File, true, "the kernel", *inst.Config.Arch, nil); err != nil {
					errs[i] = err
					continue
				}
				if f.Kernel.Cmdline != "" {
					if err := os.WriteFile(kernelCmdline, []byte(f.Kernel.Cmdline), 0o644); err != nil {
						errs[i] = err
						continue
					}
				}

View on GitHub (pinned to dd909d0973)

Solutions

1. Check the template's images[].archVariant values and pass one that exists.
2. Drop --arch-variant to accept the default image for your arch.
3. Use an updated or alternative template that publishes the requested arch variant.
4. Verify your host arch actually needs the variant you requested.

Example fix

// before
limactl create template://ubuntu-24.04 --arch-variant=9
// after
limactl create template://ubuntu-24.04 --arch-variant=8  # or omit the flag

// confirm an image with the requested archVariant exists
var found bool
for _, img := range tmpl.Images {
  if string(img.ArchVariant) == requestedArchVariant { found = true }
}
if !found { return fmt.Errorf("--arch-variant %q not offered by template", requestedArchVariant) }

When it happens

Trigger: `limactl create/start --arch-variant=<v>` (e.g. v8 vs v9 for arm64) where the template's images declare a different ArchVariant, or the field is unset while you request one.

Common situations: Requesting arm64 v9 images on templates that only publish v8 (or vice versa) on Apple Silicon / ARM servers; CI scripts pinning an arch-variant removed in a newer template.

Related errors

• no images are configured (did you set --image-variant or --a
• %w: variant mismatch (expected %q, got %q)
• field `images` must be set
• images[%d].kernel has unexpected architecture %#q, must be %
• images[%d].initrd has unexpected architecture %#q, must be %

AI-assisted analysis of lima-vm/lima@dd909d0973 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9cd65b505242429d. Report an issue: GitHub.