puppetlabs/puppet · error · Puppet::Error

Failed to set group to '%{should}': %{detail}

Error message

Failed to set group to '%{should}': %{detail}

What it means

Error "Failed to set group to '%{should}': %{detail}" thrown in puppetlabs/puppet.

Source

Thrown at lib/puppet/provider/file/posix.rb:142

      warning _("Apparently using negative GID (%{currentvalue}) on a platform that does not consistently handle them") % { currentvalue: currentvalue }
      currentvalue = :silly
    end

    currentvalue
  end

  def group=(should)
    # Set our method appropriately, depending on links.
    if resource[:links] == :manage
      method = :lchown
    else
      method = :chown
    end

    begin
      File.send(method, nil, should, resource[:path])
    rescue => detail
      raise Puppet::Error, _("Failed to set group to '%{should}': %{detail}") % { should: should, detail: detail }, detail.backtrace
    end
  end

  def mode
    stat = resource.stat
    if stat
      (stat.mode & 0o07777).to_s(8).rjust(4, '0')
    else
      :absent
    end
  end

  def mode=(value)
    File.chmod(value.to_i(8), resource[:path])
  rescue => detail
    error = Puppet::Error.new(_("failed to set mode %{mode} on %{path}: %{message}") % { mode: mode, path: resource[:path], message: detail.message })
    error.set_backtrace detail.backtrace
    raise error

View on GitHub (pinned to e227c27540)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/puppet/provider/file/posix.rb:142 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/8884febc9c598c7e. Report an issue: GitHub.