YAML · troubleshooting
A line inside a block is indented differently from the keys around it, so the parser cannot place it. The line number usually points at the line before the real mistake, which is why the error is hard to see.
Reproduced on Helm 3.18.2, . Where the text says “reproduced”, the behaviour was run on that version, not taken from documentation.
First published
New to this? Read what is actually happening first, then come back to the steps.
python3 -c 'import sys,yaml; yaml.safe_load(open(sys.argv[1]))' FILE
Look for expected <block end>, but found ... in "FILE", line N, column M
PyYAML, if installed, names the line and column of the mistake itself.
A few questions to narrow the list. Every answer ends in a command that confirms or rules the cause out — this cannot see your cluster, so nothing here is a certainty until you have checked.
Narrow it down
0 answered · nothing is sent anywhere
Cause space
3 of 3 still possible
Nothing ruled out yet. Answer the question above and the branches your answer eliminates will strike through here.
In this order. The first command usually contains the whole answer.
Step 1
python3 -c 'import sys,yaml; yaml.safe_load(open(sys.argv[1]))' FILE
PyYAML, if installed, names the line and column of the mistake itself.
Look for expected <block end>, but found ... in "FILE", line N, column M
Ordered by how often each one turns out to be the answer.
Usually a hand edit or a paste that added or removed a space at the start of one line.
Confirm
cat -et FILE | sed -n 'N,+3p'
On the line after N, a key starting in a different column (cat -A on Linux)
Fix
After - name: http, a key at the column of the dash is read as a new list item without its dash.
Confirm
sed -n 'N,+3p' FILE
A key lined up with the - of the item above
Fix
An opening " or ' without its partner swallows the rest of the file, and the parser reports the end of the stream.
Confirm
grep -nE '^[^#]*: *"[^"]*$' FILE
A value that opens a double quote and never closes it
Fix
Skip this if you are mid-incident — the working part of the page is above. Worth reading afterwards, because understanding the mechanism is what stops the next one.
YAML uses indentation to say which key a line belongs to. All keys of one block must start in the same column. A key one space to the left or right, or a list item missing its dash, leaves the parser expecting something it does not find.
Reproduced with Helm 3.18.2: tag: indented one space less than repository: printed yaml: line 2: did not find expected key, although the bad line was line 3. memory: indented one space less than cpu: printed line 3 for a mistake on line 4. The number points at the last good line, so look at the line after it.
A key written at the list's indent after a list item printed did not find expected '-' indicator: the parser expected another item.
PyYAML 6.0.3 named the bad line itself for the same file: line 4, column 4. An unclosed double quote produced a different message, found unexpected end of stream, at a line number past the end of the file.
| Where | What you see |
|---|---|
| helm and other Kubernetes tools | yaml: line N: did not find expected key |
| Lists | yaml: line N: did not find expected '-' indicator |
| Unclosed quote | yaml: line N: found unexpected end of stream |
Behaviour described here is drawn from official documentation. Where a figure could not be confirmed on an official page it is attributed in the text rather than stated as canonical.
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