vectordotdev/vector · error

{}

Error message

{}

What it means

A single example validation case failed: `vdev` ran the built `vector` binary against the generated example config and it exited non-zero. The error message is the summarized relevant portion of Vector's stdout/stderr produced by `summarize_error`.

Solutions

1. Read the summarized error text in the message; it contains Vector's own validation error.
2. Fix the source docs/metadata that generates the example (or the component config schema).
3. Regenerate with `make generate-docs` and re-run the check.

let out = Command::new("./target/debug/vector").arg("validate").arg("--no-environment").arg(config).output()?;
assert!(out.status.success(), "{}", String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr));

let output = cmd.output().context("failed to run vector")?;
if !output.status.success() {
    bail!("vector validate failed (exit {:?}): {}", output.status.code(), String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr));
}

When it happens

Trigger: `vector validate <example>` returns a non-zero exit code for one validation case — e.g. schema errors, unknown fields, failed component builds — and `validate_case` bails with the summarized output.

Common situations: Generated example references a config option that no longer exists, an option changed type, or the example requires features not compiled into the debug binary.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid value" and "allowed values are" config errors: what your library rejected and how to fix it — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• completing more than 2^16 data files at a time is obviously…
• component name must be non-empty
• config should not have any errors
• The drain_timeout_ms
• UNSUPPORTED_DYNAMIC_FEATURE_SELECTOR

AI-assisted analysis of vectordotdev/vector@bdb87aeaa4 (2026-09-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/dae432be7e8f81a7. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at vdev/src/commands/check/component_examples.rs:459

    let output = Command::new(vector_bin)
        .current_dir(repo_root)
        .args(["validate", "--no-environment", "--skip-healthchecks"])
        .arg(temporary.path())
        .output()
        .with_context(|| format!("Failed to validate {}", case.key))?;

    if output.status.success() {
        return Ok(());
    }
    let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
    let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
    let details = if stderr.trim().is_empty() {
        &stdout
    } else {
        &stderr
    };
    bail!("{}", summarize_error(details))
}

fn summarize_error(error: &str) -> &str {
    error
        .lines()
        .find(|line| {
            let line = line.trim();
            !line.contains("Failed to load") && !line.starts_with("error[") && line.contains("x ")
        })
        .or_else(|| error.lines().find(|line| !line.trim().is_empty()))
        .unwrap_or(error)
        .trim()
        .trim_start_matches("x ")
}

#[cfg(test)]
mod tests {
    use super::*;

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