toolshed/abra
4
4
Fork 23
Code Issues 82 Pull Requests 14 Packages Releases 45 Activity

Errors in .env.sample are not reported in a useful way. #762

New Issue
Closed
opened 2026-01-29 18:05:35 +00:00 by amras · 2 comments
amras commented 2026-01-29 18:05:35 +00:00
Owner
Copy Link
Copy Source

Background

Operator Scenario: Helpful

  1. I am an operator.
  2. I make a typo while editing a config: I accidentally add a dash to a variable name.
  3. I try to deploy my app.
  4. I get a legible error which tells me what needs to be fixed.
$ abra app deploy example.com
FATA env file for example.com couldn't be read: unexpected character "-" in variable name near "EVIL-VAR=error\n"

This is good.

Maintainer Scenario: Not Helpful

  1. I am a maintainer.
  2. I make a typo while editing .env.sample: I accidentally add a dash to a variable name.
  3. I try to create or deploy an app using my recipe.
  4. I get a vague error, which doesn't tell me what needs to be fixed.
FATA unable to validate recipe: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp

Reproduction

Error on app new

$ abra recipe new mvp
$ cd mvp
$ echo "EVIL-VAR=error" >> .env.sample
$ abra app new mvp -D mvp.example.com -C

FATA unable to validate recipe: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp

Error on app deploy

$ abra recipe new mvp
$ cd mvp
$ abra app new mvp -D mvp.example.com -C
$ echo "EVIL-VAR=error" >> .env.sample
$ abra app deploy mvp.example.com -C

WARN recipe 'mvp' failed lint checks:
lint R009: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * one service named 'app' (R009)
lint R015: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * deploy labels stanza present (R015)
lint R010: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * traefik routing enabled (R010)
lint R011: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * all services have images (R011)
lint R012: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * config version are vendored (R012)
FATA unable to discover .env.sample for mvp

Proposed Solution

When deploying a recipe, abra should show equivalent error messages, regardless of whether the error occured in .env or .env.sample.

Specifically:

When executing either of the reproductions above, we should see the same message as in the operator scenario, i.e.:

FATA .env.sample file for mvp.example.com couldn't be read: unexpected character "-" in variable name near "EVIL-VAR=error\n"
## Background ### Operator Scenario: Helpful 1. I am an operator. 2. I make a typo while editing a config: I accidentally add a dash to a variable name. 3. I try to deploy my app. 4. I get a legible error which tells me what needs to be fixed. ```bash $ abra app deploy example.com FATA env file for example.com couldn't be read: unexpected character "-" in variable name near "EVIL-VAR=error\n" ``` This is good. ### Maintainer Scenario: Not Helpful 1. I am a maintainer. 2. I make a typo while editing `.env.sample`: I accidentally add a dash to a variable name. 3. I try to create or deploy an app using my recipe. 4. I get a vague error, which doesn't tell me what needs to be fixed. ``` FATA unable to validate recipe: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp ``` ## Reproduction ### Error on `app new` ```bash $ abra recipe new mvp $ cd mvp $ echo "EVIL-VAR=error" >> .env.sample $ abra app new mvp -D mvp.example.com -C FATA unable to validate recipe: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp ``` ### Error on `app deploy` ```bash $ abra recipe new mvp $ cd mvp $ abra app new mvp -D mvp.example.com -C $ echo "EVIL-VAR=error" >> .env.sample $ abra app deploy mvp.example.com -C WARN recipe 'mvp' failed lint checks: lint R009: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * one service named 'app' (R009) lint R015: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * deploy labels stanza present (R015) lint R010: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * traefik routing enabled (R010) lint R011: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * all services have images (R011) lint R012: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * config version are vendored (R012) FATA unable to discover .env.sample for mvp ``` ## Proposed Solution When deploying a recipe, abra should show equivalent error messages, regardless of whether the error occured in .env or .env.sample. Specifically: When executing either of the reproductions above, we should see the same message as in the operator scenario, i.e.: ```bash FATA .env.sample file for mvp.example.com couldn't be read: unexpected character "-" in variable name near "EVIL-VAR=error\n" ```
❤️ 1
amras commented 2026-01-29 18:21:10 +00:00
Author
Owner
Copy Link
Copy Source

Debug output for completeness:

Operator Scenario

$ abra app deploy mvp.example.com -C --debug
DEBU <cli/run.go:137> abra version: 0.12.0-beta, commit: db7c4042, lang: en
DEBU <app/app.go:295> collecting metadata from 2 servers: .git, default
FATA <internal/validate.go:103> env file for mvp.example.com couldn't be read: unexpected character "-" in variable name near "EVIL-VAR=broken\n"

Reproduction / Error on app new

$ abra app new mvp -D mvp.example.com -C --debug
DEBU <cli/run.go:137> abra version: 0.12.0-beta, commit: db7c4042, lang: en
DEBU <git/branch.go:99> successfully checked out refs/heads/main in /home/admin/.abra/catalogue
DEBU <catalogue/catalogue.go:84> fetched latest git changes for /home/admin/.abra/catalogue
DEBU <recipe/recipe.go:406> read recipe catalogue from file system cache in /home/admin/.abra/catalogue/recipes.json
DEBU <git/read.go:130> no /home/admin/.gitignore exists, skipping reading gitignore paths
DEBU <git/read.go:50> git status: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp:  M .env.sample
FATA <internal/validate.go:84> unable to validate recipe: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp

Reproduction / Error on app deploy

$ abra app deploy mvp.example.com -C --debug
DEBU <cli/run.go:137> abra version: 0.12.0-beta, commit: db7c4042, lang: en
DEBU <app/app.go:295> collecting metadata from 2 servers: .git, default
DEBU <git/read.go:130> no /home/admin/.gitignore exists, skipping reading gitignore paths
DEBU <git/read.go:50> git status: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp:  M .env.sample
DEBU <app/app.go:41> loaded app mvp.example.com: {name: mvp.example.com, recipe: {name: mvp, version : 0467921b, dirty: true, dir: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp, git url: https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/mvp.git, ssh url: ssh://git@git.coopcloud.tech:2222/coop-cloud/mvp.git, compose: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml, readme: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/README.md, sample env: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/.env.sample, abra.sh: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/abra.sh}, domain: mvp.example.com, env map[DOMAIN:mvp.example.com LETS_ENCRYPT_ENV:production TYPE:mvp:0467921b], server default, path /home/admin/.abra/servers/default/mvp.example.com.env}
DEBU <internal/validate.go:106> validated mvp.example.com as app argument
DEBU <client/client.go:111> created client for default
DEBU <app/deploy.go:94> checking whether mvp_example_com is already deployed
DEBU <stack/stack.go:174> mvp_example_com has been detected as not deployed
DEBU <git/read.go:130> no /home/admin/.gitignore exists, skipping reading gitignore paths
DEBU <git/read.go:50> git status: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp:  M .env.sample
DEBU <app/deploy.go:354> version: taking chaos version: 0467921b+U
DEBU <lint/recipe.go:187> linting for critical errors in mvp configs
DEBU <lint/recipe.go:52> R010: skip condition: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
WARN <app/deploy.go:123> recipe 'mvp' failed lint checks:
lint R009: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * one service named 'app' (R009)
lint R015: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * deploy labels stanza present (R015)
lint R010: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * traefik routing enabled (R010)
lint R011: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * all services have images (R011)
lint R012: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
 * config version are vendored (R012)
DEBU <recipe/compose.go:29> no COMPOSE_FILE detected, loading default: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml
DEBU <envfile/envfile.go:42> read map[DOMAIN:mvp.example.com LETS_ENCRYPT_ENV:production TYPE:mvp:0467921b] from /home/admin/.abra/servers/default/mvp.example.com.env
DEBU <secret/secret.go:124> not generating app secrets, none enabled in recipe config
DEBU <recipe/compose.go:29> no COMPOSE_FILE detected, loading default: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml
DEBU <envfile/envfile.go:42> read map[DOMAIN:mvp.example.com LETS_ENCRYPT_ENV:production TYPE:mvp:0467921b] from /home/admin/.abra/servers/default/mvp.example.com.env
DEBU <secret/secret.go:124> not generating app secrets, none enabled in recipe config
DEBU <envfile/envfile.go:82> read 0 env var exports from /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/abra.sh
DEBU <recipe/compose.go:29> no COMPOSE_FILE detected, loading default: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml
DEBU <app/app.go:499> retrieved /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml for mvp.example.com
DEBU <app/compose.go:18> set recipe label 'coop-cloud.mvp_example_com.recipe' to mvp for mvp_example_com
DEBU <app/compose.go:30> set label 'coop-cloud.mvp_example_com.chaos' to true for mvp_example_com
DEBU <app/compose.go:41> set label 'coop-cloud.mvp_example_com.chaos-version' to 0467921b+U for mvp_example_com
DEBU <app/compose.go:51> set label 'coop-cloud.mvp_example_com.version' to  for mvp_example_com
DEBU <app/app.go:512> adding env vars to mvp_example_com service config
DEBU <app/app.go:523> mvp_example_com: TYPE: mvp:0467921b+U
DEBU <app/app.go:523> mvp_example_com: DOMAIN: mvp.example.com
DEBU <app/app.go:523> mvp_example_com: LETS_ENCRYPT_ENV: production
DEBU <app/app.go:523> mvp_example_com: STACK_NAME: mvp_example_com
FATA <app/deploy.go:178> unable to discover .env.sample for mvp
Debug output for completeness: ### Operator Scenario ```bash $ abra app deploy mvp.example.com -C --debug DEBU <cli/run.go:137> abra version: 0.12.0-beta, commit: db7c4042, lang: en DEBU <app/app.go:295> collecting metadata from 2 servers: .git, default FATA <internal/validate.go:103> env file for mvp.example.com couldn't be read: unexpected character "-" in variable name near "EVIL-VAR=broken\n" ``` ### Reproduction / Error on `app new` ```bash $ abra app new mvp -D mvp.example.com -C --debug DEBU <cli/run.go:137> abra version: 0.12.0-beta, commit: db7c4042, lang: en DEBU <git/branch.go:99> successfully checked out refs/heads/main in /home/admin/.abra/catalogue DEBU <catalogue/catalogue.go:84> fetched latest git changes for /home/admin/.abra/catalogue DEBU <recipe/recipe.go:406> read recipe catalogue from file system cache in /home/admin/.abra/catalogue/recipes.json DEBU <git/read.go:130> no /home/admin/.gitignore exists, skipping reading gitignore paths DEBU <git/read.go:50> git status: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp: M .env.sample FATA <internal/validate.go:84> unable to validate recipe: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp ``` ### Reproduction / Error on `app deploy` ```bash $ abra app deploy mvp.example.com -C --debug DEBU <cli/run.go:137> abra version: 0.12.0-beta, commit: db7c4042, lang: en DEBU <app/app.go:295> collecting metadata from 2 servers: .git, default DEBU <git/read.go:130> no /home/admin/.gitignore exists, skipping reading gitignore paths DEBU <git/read.go:50> git status: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp: M .env.sample DEBU <app/app.go:41> loaded app mvp.example.com: {name: mvp.example.com, recipe: {name: mvp, version : 0467921b, dirty: true, dir: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp, git url: https://git.coopcloud.tech/coop-cloud/mvp.git, ssh url: ssh://git@git.coopcloud.tech:2222/coop-cloud/mvp.git, compose: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml, readme: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/README.md, sample env: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/.env.sample, abra.sh: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/abra.sh}, domain: mvp.example.com, env map[DOMAIN:mvp.example.com LETS_ENCRYPT_ENV:production TYPE:mvp:0467921b], server default, path /home/admin/.abra/servers/default/mvp.example.com.env} DEBU <internal/validate.go:106> validated mvp.example.com as app argument DEBU <client/client.go:111> created client for default DEBU <app/deploy.go:94> checking whether mvp_example_com is already deployed DEBU <stack/stack.go:174> mvp_example_com has been detected as not deployed DEBU <git/read.go:130> no /home/admin/.gitignore exists, skipping reading gitignore paths DEBU <git/read.go:50> git status: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp: M .env.sample DEBU <app/deploy.go:354> version: taking chaos version: 0467921b+U DEBU <lint/recipe.go:187> linting for critical errors in mvp configs DEBU <lint/recipe.go:52> R010: skip condition: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp WARN <app/deploy.go:123> recipe 'mvp' failed lint checks: lint R009: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * one service named 'app' (R009) lint R015: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * deploy labels stanza present (R015) lint R010: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * traefik routing enabled (R010) lint R011: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * all services have images (R011) lint R012: unable to discover .env.sample for mvp * config version are vendored (R012) DEBU <recipe/compose.go:29> no COMPOSE_FILE detected, loading default: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml DEBU <envfile/envfile.go:42> read map[DOMAIN:mvp.example.com LETS_ENCRYPT_ENV:production TYPE:mvp:0467921b] from /home/admin/.abra/servers/default/mvp.example.com.env DEBU <secret/secret.go:124> not generating app secrets, none enabled in recipe config DEBU <recipe/compose.go:29> no COMPOSE_FILE detected, loading default: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml DEBU <envfile/envfile.go:42> read map[DOMAIN:mvp.example.com LETS_ENCRYPT_ENV:production TYPE:mvp:0467921b] from /home/admin/.abra/servers/default/mvp.example.com.env DEBU <secret/secret.go:124> not generating app secrets, none enabled in recipe config DEBU <envfile/envfile.go:82> read 0 env var exports from /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/abra.sh DEBU <recipe/compose.go:29> no COMPOSE_FILE detected, loading default: /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml DEBU <app/app.go:499> retrieved /home/admin/.abra/recipes/mvp/compose.yml for mvp.example.com DEBU <app/compose.go:18> set recipe label 'coop-cloud.mvp_example_com.recipe' to mvp for mvp_example_com DEBU <app/compose.go:30> set label 'coop-cloud.mvp_example_com.chaos' to true for mvp_example_com DEBU <app/compose.go:41> set label 'coop-cloud.mvp_example_com.chaos-version' to 0467921b+U for mvp_example_com DEBU <app/compose.go:51> set label 'coop-cloud.mvp_example_com.version' to for mvp_example_com DEBU <app/app.go:512> adding env vars to mvp_example_com service config DEBU <app/app.go:523> mvp_example_com: TYPE: mvp:0467921b+U DEBU <app/app.go:523> mvp_example_com: DOMAIN: mvp.example.com DEBU <app/app.go:523> mvp_example_com: LETS_ENCRYPT_ENV: production DEBU <app/app.go:523> mvp_example_com: STACK_NAME: mvp_example_com FATA <app/deploy.go:178> unable to discover .env.sample for mvp ```
decentral1se added the bug label 2026-01-29 22:14:38 +00:00
decentral1se added this to the Abra v0.13 project 2026-02-15 16:49:25 +00:00
decentral1se commented 2026-02-15 16:49:44 +00:00
Owner
Copy Link
Copy Source

Thanks for the report @amras, I've got a fix incoming for this 🫡

Thanks for the report @amras, I've got a fix incoming for this 🫡
decentral1se moved this to In Progress in Abra v0.13 on 2026-02-15 17:15:27 +00:00
decentral1se moved this to Done in Abra v0.13 on 2026-02-15 17:57:56 +00:00
Sign in to join this conversation.
No Branch/Tag Specified
Branches Tags
Labels
Clear labels
bug
Something is not working
 build
go build related issues
 ci/cd
Building things with CI/CD
 critical fix
https://docs.coopcloud.tech/federation/resolutions/passed/010/
 design
UI/UX
 documentation
Documenting all the things
 duplicate
This issue or pull request already exists
 easy-first-issue
Something for new people to get stuck into. We hope it's easy!
 enhancement
New feature
 help wanted
Need some help
 i10n
Everything to do with localisation
 i18n
Everything to do with internationalisation
 installer
Everything to do with the install script.
 invalid
Something is wrong
 question
More information is needed
 release
Release management
 release-candidate
Related to the new release candidate
 security
Security related
 tech-debt
test
Unit/integration testing
 wontfix
This won't be fixed
No labels bug
Milestone
No items
No Milestone
Projects
Clear projects
No projects
Abra v0.13
Done
Assignees
Clear assignees
3wordchant aadil (Aadil Ayub) abra-bot (Abra Bot) ammaratef45 amras (Sarma) Apfelwurm BornDeleuze Brooke carla cas (Cassowary) coopcloud cyrnel decentral1se (d1) dede devydave fauno (fauno) iexos jade (Jade Ambrose) jjsfunhouse jmakdah2 (Jackie Makdah) joe-irving (Joe Irving) kawaiipunk (KawaiiPunk) knoflook kolaente lambdabundesverband linnealovespie (April) moosemower moritz notplants oxaliq (sorrel) p4u1 pharaohgraphy (Andrew 🐦‍🔥❤️‍🔥✴️) renovate-bot (Comrade Renovate Bot) ripclap simon sixsmith (Sixsmith) stevensting trav (Trav Fryer) val (val (he/him)) yksflip
No Assignees
2 Participants
Notifications
Due Date
No due date set.
Dependencies

No dependencies set.

Reference: toolshed/abra#762