puppetlabs/puppet · error · ArgumentError

Given data_type value is not a data type, got '%{type}'

Error message

Given data_type value is not a data type, got '%{type}'

What it means

Raised by Puppet::Pal::Compiler#create when the data_type argument is neither a String (which PAL would parse as a type expression) nor an instance of Puppet::Pops::Types::PAnyType. create() is the PAL API for instantiating a value from a type via the 'new' function; after optionally parsing a String it requires an actual Pops type object.

Source

Thrown at lib/puppet/pal/compiler.rb:196

    #   pal.create('Car', 'color' => 'black', 'make' => 't-ford')
    #
    # @param type_string [String] a puppet language data type
    # @return [Puppet::Pops::Types::PAnyType] the data type
    #
    def type(type_string)
      Puppet::Pops::Types::TypeParser.singleton.parse(type_string)
    end

    # Creates a new instance of a given data type.
    # @param data_type [String, Puppet::Pops::Types::PAnyType] the data type as a data type or in String form.
    # @param arguments [Object] one or more arguments to the called `new` function
    # @return [Object] an instance of the given data type,
    #   or raises an error if it was not possible to parse data type or create an instance.
    #
    def create(data_type, *arguments)
      t = data_type.is_a?(String) ? type(data_type) : data_type
      unless t.is_a?(Puppet::Pops::Types::PAnyType)
        raise ArgumentError, _("Given data_type value is not a data type, got '%{type}'") % { type: t.class }
      end

      call_function('new', t, *arguments)
    end

    # Returns true if this is a compiler that compiles a catalog.
    # This implementation returns `false`
    # @return Boolan false
    def has_catalog?
      false
    end

    protected

    def list_loadable_kind(kind, filter_regex = nil, error_collector = nil)
      loader = internal_compiler.loaders.private_environment_loader
      if filter_regex.nil?
        loader.discover(kind, error_collector)

View on GitHub (pinned to e227c27540)

Solutions

1. Pass the type in String form, e.g. pal.create('Integer', 5) or pal.create('Array[String]')
2. Or pass a real Pops type: Puppet::Pops::Types::TypeParser.singleton.parse('Optional[Integer]') or Puppet::Pops::Types::TypeFactory.integer
3. If the value comes from user input, validate it is a String and let create() do the parsing

Example fix

// before
pal.create(5, 3) # 5 is not a type

// after
pal.create('Integer', 3)

raise ArgumentError, 'data_type must be a String or PAnyType' unless data_type.is_a?(String) || data_type.is_a?(Puppet::Pops::Types::PAnyType)

def pal_creatable_type?(t)
  t.is_a?(String) || t.is_a?(Puppet::Pops::Types::PAnyType)
end

begin
  pal.create(type_arg, *args)
rescue ArgumentError => e
  raise ArgumentError, "invalid data type #{type_arg.inspect}" if e.message.include?('not a data type')
  raise
end

When it happens

Trigger: Calling compiler.create(42), create(SomeRubyClass), create(:symbol) or create(nil) - anything that is not a String and not a Pops type. Passing PIntegerType/PArrayType/PStructType is fine since all derive from PAnyType; a String that fails parsing instead raises from TypeParser.

Common situations: Ruby tools embedding PAL that pass a Ruby class, constant or symbol where a type name is expected; passing an already-created Ruby value instead of its Puppet type; mixing up TypeParser results with raw strings.

Related errors

• Given variables must be a hash, got %{type}
• puppet.tasks/unparseable-metadata
• manifest_file or code_string cannot be given when configured
• A block must be given to 'in_tmp_environment'
• A block must be given to 'in_environment'

AI-assisted analysis of puppetlabs/puppet@e227c27540 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/76912dc41963b9c7. Report an issue: GitHub.