puppetlabs/puppet · error · ArgumentError

Auth names must be provided as an array, not a comma-separat

Error message

Auth names must be provided as an array, not a comma-separated list

What it means

Raised by the validate block of the `auths` property on the `user` type when a member string contains a comma. The property is a Puppet::Property::List and requires an array of Solaris authorization names; a comma-joined string would otherwise be interpreted as a single bogus authorization name, so it is rejected up front.

Source

Thrown at lib/puppet/type/user.rb:568

      newvalues(:inclusive, :minimum)

      defaultto :minimum
    end

    newproperty(:auths, :parent => Puppet::Property::List, :required_features => :manages_solaris_rbac) do
      desc "The auths the user has.  Multiple auths should be
        specified as an array."

      def membership
        :auth_membership
      end

      validate do |value|
        if value =~ /^\d+$/
          raise ArgumentError, _("Auth names must be provided, not numbers")
        end
        raise ArgumentError, _("Auth names must be provided as an array, not a comma-separated list") if value.include?(",")
      end
    end

    newparam(:auth_membership) do
      desc "Whether specified auths should be considered the **complete list**
        (`inclusive`) or the **minimum list** (`minimum`) of auths the user
        has. This setting is specific to managing Solaris authorizations."

      newvalues(:inclusive, :minimum)

      defaultto :minimum
    end

    newproperty(:profiles, :parent => Puppet::Property::OrderedList, :required_features => :manages_solaris_rbac) do
      desc "The profiles the user has.  Multiple profiles should be
        specified as an array."

      def membership

View on GitHub (pinned to e227c27540)

Solutions

1. Pass an array: `auths => ['solaris.admin.usermgr', 'solaris.system.admin']`
2. Fix Hiera data to be a YAML list
3. Split strings in the profile before use: `auths => $raw.split(',')`

Example fix

# before
user { 'alice':
  ensure => present,
  auths  => 'solaris.admin.usermgr,solaris.system.admin',
}

# after
user { 'alice':
  ensure => present,
  auths  => ['solaris.admin.usermgr', 'solaris.system.admin'],
}

auths = raw.is_a?(String) ? raw.split(',').map(&:strip).reject(&:empty?) : Array(raw)

When it happens

Trigger: `user { 'alice': auths => 'solaris.admin.usermgr,solaris.system.admin' }` on Solaris; joined-array data from Hiera or an ENC; converting `usermod -A auth1,auth2` command lines.

Common situations: Shell-script-to-manifest ports where -A takes a comma list; YAML authored as scalar instead of list; tooling that flattens arrays to strings.

Related errors

• Role names must be provided as an array, not a comma-separat
• Auth names must be provided, not numbers
• Profile names must be provided as an array, not a comma-sepa
• Group names must be provided as an array, not a comma-separa
• Role names must be provided, not numbers

AI-assisted analysis of puppetlabs/puppet@e227c27540 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b8fed6621993cb81. Report an issue: GitHub.