siyuan-note/siyuan · error

invalid imported notebook identity [%s]: %w

Error message

invalid imported notebook identity [%s]: %w

What it means

Thrown by validateImportedNotebookIdentities when the encryption backup file (notebookCryptoBackupFilename under .siyuan/) exists but readBoxEncryptionFile fails to read or parse it. This backup file stores the notebook's encryption identity (salt, verifier, wrapped DEK) as a fallback when conf.json's BoxCrypt is missing or invalid. The error wraps the underlying read/parse error.

Source

Thrown at kernel/model/import.go:1065

		backupPath := filepath.Join(boxDir, ".siyuan", notebookCryptoBackupFilename)

		var boxConf *conf.BoxConf
		if filelock.IsExist(confPath) {
			data, readErr := filelock.ReadFile(confPath)
			if readErr != nil {
				return nil, fmt.Errorf("read imported notebook conf [%s] failed: %w", boxID, readErr)
			}
			boxConf = conf.NewBoxConf()
			if unmarshalErr := gulu.JSON.UnmarshalJSON(data, boxConf); unmarshalErr != nil {
				return nil, fmt.Errorf("parse imported notebook conf [%s] failed: %w", boxID, unmarshalErr)
			}
		}

		var backup *conf.BoxEncryption
		if filelock.IsExist(backupPath) {
			backup, err = readBoxEncryptionFile(backupPath)
			if err != nil {
				return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid imported notebook identity [%s]: %w", boxID, err)
			}
		}

		var boxCrypt *conf.BoxEncryption
		if boxConf != nil && boxConf.Encrypted {
			if boxConf.BoxCrypt != nil && validateBoxEncryption(boxConf.BoxCrypt) == nil {
				boxCrypt = boxConf.BoxCrypt
			} else {
				boxCrypt = backup
			}
			if boxCrypt == nil {
				return nil, fmt.Errorf("encrypted notebook [%s] has no valid identity", boxID)
			}
		} else if boxConf != nil && backup != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("notebook [%s] has conflicting normal and encrypted identities", boxID)
		} else if backup != nil {
			boxCrypt = backup
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 251596fc0d)

Solutions

1. Re-export the Data.zip from the source SiYuan instance to get a clean backup file.
2. Check if the source and target SiYuan versions are compatible (encryption format may have changed between versions).
3. Inspect the wrapped error for the specific parse/read failure.
4. If the notebook is not meant to be encrypted, remove the backup file from the Data.zip before importing.

encryptedBoxIDs, err := validateImportedNotebookIdentities(tmpDataPath)
if err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "invalid imported notebook identity") &&
       !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "validateBoxEncryption") {
        // Backup encryption file is corrupt
        logging.LogErrorf("encryption backup file is corrupt: %s", err)
        // Suggest re-export or removing the backup file if notebook is not encrypted
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling validateImportedNotebookIdentities where a notebook directory contains .siyuan/<backup-filename> that exists (filelock.IsExist returns true) but readBoxEncryptionFile returns an error at import.go:1062-1066.

Common situations: Corrupted or truncated encryption backup file from an incomplete export. Backup file from an incompatible SiYuan version with a different encryption format. Manual tampering with the backup file. Filesystem read error on the temp volume.

Related errors

• encrypted notebook [%s] has no valid identity
• notebook [%s] has conflicting normal and encrypted identitie
• Cannot import a key backup while encrypted notebooks are ena
• Decryption failed: incorrect key or corrupted data
• read imported notebook conf [%s] failed: %w

AI-assisted analysis of siyuan-note/siyuan@251596fc0d (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5b3283a0db0145ad. Report an issue: GitHub.