pulumi/pulumi · error

resolving stack: %w

Error message

resolving stack: %w

What it means

Before listing drift runs, the command resolves the target stack via RequireStack (LoadOnly). Any failure from that resolution — unknown stack, wrong project, auth/backend problems, or failure to load the stack — is wrapped with 'resolving stack: %w'. The drift commands need a concrete stack identity to call the Pulumi Cloud drift API.

Source

Thrown at pkg/cmd/pulumi/stack/stack_drift_list.go:133

	cmd.Flags().IntVar(&dlcmd.count, "count", 0,
		"Number of results to display (fetches multiple pages if needed)")
	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&dlcmd.all, "all", false,
		"Fetch all results (mutually exclusive with --count)")
	outputflag.Var(cmd.Flags(), &dlcmd.output)

	return cmd
}

func defaultDriftListClientFactory(
	ctx context.Context, stackFlag string,
) (driftListClient, client.StackIdentifier, error) {
	ws := pkgWorkspace.Instance
	opts := display.Options{Color: cmdutil.GetGlobalColorization()}

	s, err := RequireStack(ctx, cmdutil.Diag(), ws, cmdBackend.DefaultLoginManager,
		stackFlag, LoadOnly, opts, "")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, client.StackIdentifier{}, fmt.Errorf("resolving stack: %w", err)
	}

	cloudStack, ok := s.(httpstate.Stack)
	if !ok {
		return nil, client.StackIdentifier{},
			errors.New("drift commands require the Pulumi Cloud backend; run `pulumi login`")
	}

	ref := cloudStack.Ref()
	project := ""
	if p, ok := ref.Project(); ok {
		project = string(p)
	}
	stackID := client.StackIdentifier{
		Owner:   cloudStack.OrgName(),
		Project: project,
		Stack:   ref.Name(),
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to 793f7b2e16)

Solutions

1. Run `pulumi stack ls` to confirm the exact stack name and pass it via --stack.
2. Run from the project directory (or pass an org/project/stack fully qualified name) so the stack reference resolves.
3. Re-authenticate with `pulumi login` and check backend connectivity.
4. Inspect the wrapped cause (the text after 'resolving stack:') for the specific failure and fix accordingly.

Example fix

// before (run outside project dir, ambiguous name)
pulumi stack drift list --stack dev
// after
pulumi stack drift list --stack my-org/my-project/dev

pulumi stack ls | grep 'my-org/my-project/dev'  # ensure the stack resolves before drift list

if errText contains "resolving stack:" {
    // fix stack ref / login per wrapped cause, then retry once
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `pulumi stack drift list` when the --stack reference does not match an existing stack; the stack cannot be loaded from the current backend; credentials are expired or the backend is unreachable.

Common situations: Typos in the stack name or running from a directory without a Pulumi.yaml project so the fully qualified stack name cannot be derived; being logged into the wrong organization/backend; not logged in at all.

Related errors

• load stack: %w
• loading stack %q for decryption: %w
• loading stack %q: %w
• resolving stack: %w
• could not determine current cloud: %w

AI-assisted analysis of pulumi/pulumi@793f7b2e16 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6f93ea9345ba6688. Report an issue: GitHub.