mikefarah/yq · error

failed to load %v: %w

Error message

failed to load %v: %w

What it means

loadString resolved a filename and called loadString(filename) to read it, but the read/parse of that file failed. The %w wraps the underlying cause — commonly the file does not exist, is unreadable, or its contents could not be parsed as the expected format; the offending filename is printed in the message.

Source

Thrown at pkg/yqlib/operator_load.go:88

	var results = list.New()

	for el := context.MatchingNodes.Front(); el != nil; el = el.Next() {
		candidate := el.Value.(*CandidateNode)

		rhs, err := d.GetMatchingNodes(context.SingleReadonlyChildContext(candidate), expressionNode.RHS)
		if err != nil {
			return Context{}, err
		}
		if rhs.MatchingNodes.Front() == nil {
			return Context{}, fmt.Errorf("filename expression returned nil")
		}
		nameCandidateNode := rhs.MatchingNodes.Front().Value.(*CandidateNode)

		filename := nameCandidateNode.Value

		contentsCandidate, err := loadString(filename)
		if err != nil {
			return Context{}, fmt.Errorf("failed to load %v: %w", filename, err)
		}

		results.PushBack(contentsCandidate)

	}

	return context.ChildContext(results), nil
}

func loadOperator(d *dataTreeNavigator, context Context, expressionNode *ExpressionNode) (Context, error) {
	log.Debugf("loadOperator")
	if ConfiguredSecurityPreferences.DisableFileOps {
		return Context{}, fmt.Errorf("file operations have been disabled")
	}

	loadPrefs := expressionNode.Operation.Preferences.(loadPrefs)

	// need to evaluate the 1st parameter against the context

View on GitHub (pinned to 8b5af0694b)

Solutions

  1. Check the printed filename exists and is readable
  2. Correct the path — it is interpreted literally as given
  3. Ensure the target file's content is valid for its format
  4. Verify the process has permission to read the file
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at pkg/yqlib/operator_load.go:88 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of mikefarah/yq@8b5af0694b (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2acdf78f08619ee8. Report an issue: GitHub.