puppetlabs/puppet · error · FileReadError

Could not read crontab for %{path}: %{detail}

Error message

Could not read crontab for %{path}: %{detail}

What it means

Error "Could not read crontab for %{path}: %{detail}" thrown in puppetlabs/puppet.

Source

Thrown at lib/puppet/util/filetype.rb:211

    # Read a specific @path's cron tab.
    def read
      unless Puppet::Util.uid(@path)
        Puppet.debug _("The %{path} user does not exist. Treating their crontab file as empty in case Puppet creates them in the middle of the run.") % { path: @path }

        return ""
      end

      Puppet::Util::Execution.execute("#{cmdbase} -l", failonfail: true, combine: true)
    rescue => detail
      case detail.to_s
      when /no crontab for/
        ""
      when /are not allowed to/
        Puppet.debug _("The %{path} user is not authorized to use cron. Their crontab file is treated as empty in case Puppet authorizes them in the middle of the run (by, for example, modifying the cron.deny or cron.allow files).") % { path: @path }

        ""
      else
        raise FileReadError, _("Could not read crontab for %{path}: %{detail}") % { path: @path, detail: detail }, detail.backtrace
      end
    end

    # Remove a specific @path's cron tab.
    def remove
      cmd = "#{cmdbase} -r"
      if %w[Darwin FreeBSD DragonFly].include?(Puppet.runtime[:facter].value('os.name'))
        cmd = "/bin/echo yes | #{cmd}"
      end

      Puppet::Util::Execution.execute(cmd, failonfail: true, combine: true)
    end

    # Overwrite a specific @path's cron tab; must be passed the @path name
    # and the text with which to create the cron tab.
    #
    # TODO: We should refactor this at some point to make it identical to the
    # :aixtab and :suntab's write methods so that, at the very least, the pipe

View on GitHub (pinned to e227c27540)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/puppet/util/filetype.rb:211 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of puppetlabs/puppet@e227c27540 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9aea1402375347e8. Report an issue: GitHub.