puppetlabs/puppet · error · Puppet::Error

Unknown Service state '%{current_state}' for '%{service_name

Error message

Unknown Service state '%{current_state}' for '%{service_name}'

What it means

Raised by service_state when the numeric dwCurrentState returned by QueryServiceStatusEx has no entry in the SERVICE_STATES map (which covers all seven standard states 1-7). A nil lookup means the SCM reported an unmapped state value, which normally indicates an unexpected/undocumented value or a struct-reading problem. Note a message quirk: current_state is interpolated as state.to_s, and since state is nil at that point, the message always shows an empty state string.

Source

Thrown at lib/puppet/util/windows/service.rb:114

      end

      Puppet.debug _("Successfully resumed the %{service_name} service") % { service_name: service_name }
    end
    module_function :resume

    # Query the state of a service using QueryServiceStatusEx
    #
    # @param [string] service_name name of the service to query
    # @return [string] the status of the service
    def service_state(service_name)
      state = nil
      open_service(service_name, SC_MANAGER_CONNECT, SERVICE_QUERY_STATUS) do |service|
        query_status(service) do |status|
          state = SERVICE_STATES[status[:dwCurrentState]]
        end
      end
      if state.nil?
        raise Puppet::Error, _("Unknown Service state '%{current_state}' for '%{service_name}'") % { current_state: state.to_s, service_name: service_name }
      end

      state
    end
    module_function :service_state

    # Query the configuration of a service using QueryServiceConfigW
    # or QueryServiceConfig2W
    #
    # @param [String] service_name name of the service to query
    # @return [QUERY_SERVICE_CONFIGW.struct] the configuration of the service
    def service_start_type(service_name)
      start_type = nil
      open_service(service_name, SC_MANAGER_CONNECT, SERVICE_QUERY_CONFIG) do |service|
        query_config(service) do |config|
          start_type = SERVICE_START_TYPES[config[:dwStartType]]
        end
      end

View on GitHub (pinned to e227c27540)

Solutions

1. Retry the query once after a short delay to rule out transient SCM state during install/uninstall
2. Cross-check with sc query <name> and PowerShell Get-Service to see the raw state
3. If reproducible, verify the ffi gem and Puppet versions are compatible (struct layout drift produces garbage state codes)
4. File the occurrence upstream with the service name and state code

def safe_service_state(name, attempts: 2)
  Puppet::Util::Windows::Service.service_state(name)
rescue Puppet::Error => e
  retry if (attempts -= 1) > 0 && e.message.include?("Unknown Service state")
  raise Puppet::Error, "SCM reported an unmapped state for #{name}; check 'sc query #{name}'"
end

When it happens

Trigger: service_state on a service whose reported dwCurrentState is 0 or outside 1-7, e.g. a half-initialized driver service, a service in a transient state during SCM churn, or corrupted query results read into SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESS.

Common situations: Rare; occasionally seen against kernel drivers or immediately after service install/uninstall races; more often a symptom of FFI struct layout mismatch than of a genuinely novel state.

Related errors

• The service must be in one of the %{valid_initial_states} st
• Unknown start type '%{start_type}' for '%{service_name}'
• Failed to fetch services
• Failed to open a handle to the service
• Failed to open a handle to the service control manager

AI-assisted analysis of puppetlabs/puppet@e227c27540 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cfcb018e1abc80c3. Report an issue: GitHub.