netbirdio/netbird · error

setup login request: %v

Error message

setup login request: %v

What it means

Returned when setupLoginRequest cannot translate the CLI flags into a proto.LoginRequest. That function runs all flag validation: validateNATExternalIPs for --external-ip-map, validateDnsLabels for --extra-dns-labels, parseInterfaceName, and related checks. The wrapped error names the offending value and flag, so the context 'setup login request' just localizes the failure to flag validation before any RPC is made.

Source

Thrown at client/cmd/up.go:348

	}

	if err := doDaemonUp(ctx, cmd, client, pm, activeProf, customDNSAddressConverted, username.Username); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("daemon up failed: %v", err)
	}
	cmd.Println("Connected")
	return nil
}

func doDaemonUp(ctx context.Context, cmd *cobra.Command, client proto.DaemonServiceClient, pm *profilemanager.ProfileManager, activeProf *profilemanager.Profile, customDNSAddressConverted []byte, username string) error {

	providedSetupKey, err := getSetupKey()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("get setup key: %v", err)
	}

	loginRequest, err := setupLoginRequest(providedSetupKey, customDNSAddressConverted, cmd)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("setup login request: %v", err)
	}

	profileID := activeProf.ID.String()
	loginRequest.ProfileName = &profileID
	loginRequest.Username = &username

	profileState, err := pm.GetProfileState(activeProf.ID)
	if err != nil {
		log.Debugf("failed to get profile state for login hint: %v", err)
	} else if profileState.Email != "" {
		loginRequest.Hint = &profileState.Email
	}

	var loginErr error
	var loginResp *proto.LoginResponse

	err = WithBackOff(func() error {
		var backOffErr error

View on GitHub (pinned to 93e97f4bf1)

Solutions

1. Read the inner error: it names the exact flag and expected format (e.g. IP/IP for --external-ip-map)
2. Correct or remove the flagged value and re-run
3. Run `netbird up --help` to confirm current flag formats

// run the same validators the CLI uses, before spawning it
if err := validateNATExternalIPs(externalIPs); err != nil { return err }
if _, err := domain.ValidateDomains(dnsLabels); err != nil { return err }

When it happens

Trigger: `netbird up` with a malformed --external-ip-map entry, an invalid --extra-dns-labels domain, an --interface-name that is non-utun on macOS, or a bad --dns-resolver-address — any error escaping those validators.

Common situations: Copy-pasted flag values from older docs with different accepted formats; scripts templating flag values that end up empty or malformed.

Related errors

• cannot specify both --all flag and state name
• setup config: %v
• parse custom DNS address: %v
• empty string is not a valid input for %s
• %s is not a valid input for %s. it should be formatted as "S

AI-assisted analysis of netbirdio/netbird@93e97f4bf1 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b2b25d7310aee173. Report an issue: GitHub.