puppetlabs/puppet · error · FileReadError

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

Error message

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

What it means

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

Source

Thrown at lib/puppet/util/filetype.rb:284

      Puppet::Util::Execution.execute(%w[crontab -l], cronargs)
    rescue => detail
      case detail.to_s
      when /can't open your crontab/
        ""
      when /you are not authorized to use cron/
        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
      Puppet::Util::Execution.execute(%w[crontab -r], cronargs)
    rescue => detail
      raise FileReadError, _("Could not remove crontab for %{path}: %{detail}") % { path: @path, detail: detail }, detail.backtrace
    end

    # Overwrite a specific @path's cron tab; must be passed the @path name
    # and the text with which to create the cron tab.
    def write(text)
      # this file is managed by the OS and should be using system encoding
      output_file = Tempfile.new("puppet_suntab", :encoding => Encoding.default_external)
      begin
        output_file.print text
        output_file.close
        # We have to chown the stupid file to the user.
        File.chown(Puppet::Util.uid(@path), nil, output_file.path)
        Puppet::Util::Execution.execute(["crontab", output_file.path], cronargs)
      rescue => detail
        raise FileReadError, _("Could not write crontab for %{path}: %{detail}") % { path: @path, detail: detail }, detail.backtrace
      ensure
        output_file.close
        output_file.unlink

View on GitHub (pinned to e227c27540)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/puppet/util/filetype.rb:284 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/dc62e074be5b1831. Report an issue: GitHub.