puppetlabs/puppet · error · Puppet::Settings::ValidationError

Invalid autosign value %{value}: must be 'true'/'false' or a

Error message

Invalid autosign value %{value}: must be 'true'/'false' or an absolute path

What it means

Puppet::Settings::AutosignSetting#munge validates the `autosign` setting (certificate autosigning): true/'true' map to true, false/'false'/nil map to false, and any other value must satisfy Puppet::Util.absolute_path? (an absolute path to an autosign script or conf); everything else raises Puppet::Settings::ValidationError at config load.

Source

Thrown at lib/puppet/settings/autosign_setting.rb:20

require_relative '../../puppet/settings/base_setting'

# A specialization of the file setting to allow boolean values.
#
# The autosign value can be either a boolean or a file path, and if the setting
# is a file path then it may have a owner/group/mode specified.
#
# @api private
class Puppet::Settings::AutosignSetting < Puppet::Settings::FileSetting
  def munge(value)
    if ['true', true].include? value
      true
    elsif ['false', false, nil].include? value
      false
    elsif Puppet::Util.absolute_path?(value)
      value
    else
      raise Puppet::Settings::ValidationError, _("Invalid autosign value %{value}: must be 'true'/'false' or an absolute path") % { value: value }
    end
  end
end

View on GitHub (pinned to e227c27540)

Solutions

1. Use the literal booleans true/false, or an absolute path such as /etc/puppetlabs/puppet/autosign.conf.
2. Fix relative paths to absolute ones (prefix $confdir's real value).
3. On Windows use a drive-absolute path form the OS accepts.

Example fix

# before (puppet.conf [server])
autosign = yes

# after
autosign = /etc/puppetlabs/puppet/autosign.conf
# or simply:
autosign = true

ok = [true, 'true'].include?(v) || [false, 'false', nil].include?(v) || Puppet::Util.absolute_path?(v)
raise Puppet::Settings::ValidationError, "autosign must be true/false or an absolute path (got #{v.inspect})" unless ok

valid_autosign = ->(v) { [true, 'true'].include?(v) || [false, 'false', nil].include?(v) || Puppet::Util.absolute_path?(v) }

begin
  Puppet.settings[:autosign] = v
rescue Puppet::Settings::ValidationError => e
  raise unless e.message.include?('autosign')
  Puppet.err("#{e.message} — use true/false or /abs/path/autosign.conf")
  raise
end

When it happens

Trigger: puppet.conf `autosign = yes` or `autosign = on`; a relative path like `autosign = autosign.conf`; empty-ish junk values; on Windows a non-drive-absolute path (must be like C:/path or \\server\share, depending on absolute_path? support).

Common situations: Copying tutorials that use yes/no booleans; moving configs between Unix and Windows where path conventions differ; deploy tooling writing relative paths.

Related errors

• Invalid run mode '#{mode}'
• Invalid value '%{value}' for boolean parameter: %{name}
• Invalid certificate revocation value %{value}: must be one o
• Invalid duration format '%{value}' for parameter: %{name}
• The certificate for '%{name}' has not yet been signed

AI-assisted analysis of puppetlabs/puppet@e227c27540 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3945acc0cee49a42. Report an issue: GitHub.