fix(cli): validate VRL with --no-environment by pront · Pull Request #25161 · vectordotdev/vector

pront · 2026-04-10T13:40:20Z

Summary

vector validate --no-environment is meant for validating configs without access to environment resources (network, file system, external services). However, it silently skipped transform-level VRL and condition compilation, so errors like unhandled fallible function calls or type mismatches went unreported unless the full environment was available.

This PR fixes that by unifying the validation path: transform compilation now runs in both --no-environment and normal mode, with the normal mode additionally running the full environment checks on top. Stub enrichment tables are registered from the config so VRL can validate enrichment table name references without loading actual data.

As a cleanup, the validate() call was also removed from check_outputs — that function is for graph/wiring checks only and should not invoke environment-dependent logic.

Vector configuration

Broken VRL — caught with --no-environment:

# /tmp/test_broken_vrl.yaml
sources:
  in:
    type: demo_logs
    format: shuffle
    lines: ["log"]

transforms:
  broken:
    inputs: ["in"]
    type: remap
    source: ".foo = to_int(.bar)"  # to_int is fallible, missing !

sinks:
  out:
    inputs: ["broken"]
    type: blackhole

Broken condition — caught with --no-environment:

# /tmp/test_broken_filter.yaml
sources:
  in:
    type: demo_logs
    format: shuffle
    lines: ["log"]

transforms:
  broken:
    inputs: ["in"]
    type: filter
    condition: '.foo = "not a condition"'

sinks:
  out:
    inputs: ["broken"]
    type: blackhole

Valid config — passes:

# /tmp/test_valid.yaml
sources:
  in:
    type: demo_logs
    format: shuffle
    lines: ["log"]

transforms:
  enrich:
    inputs: ["in"]
    type: remap
    source: '.foo = "bar"'

sinks:
  out:
    inputs: ["enrich"]
    type: blackhole

How did you test this PR?

# Should FAIL — to_int is fallible, missing !
cargo run --bin vector -- validate --no-environment /tmp/test_broken_vrl.yaml

# Should FAIL — assignment in condition, not a boolean expression
cargo run --bin vector -- validate --no-environment /tmp/test_broken_filter.yaml

# Should pass
cargo run --bin vector -- validate --no-environment /tmp/test_valid.yaml

Also ran the CLI integration test suite:

cargo test --test integration --features cli-tests

Change Type

Bug fix

Is this a breaking change?

No

Does this PR include user facing changes?

Yes. Changelog fragment added: changelog.d/15037_validate_no_environment_vrl.fix.md

References

Closes: Validate no-environment should perform transform/filter VRL checks #15037

datadog-vectordotdev · 2026-06-19T00:22:52Z

Tests

🎉 All green!

🧪 All tests passed
❄️ No new flaky tests detected

_{This comment will be updated automatically if new data arrives.

🔗 Commit SHA: de6c7e0 | Docs | Give us feedback!}

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vector validate --no-environment now catches VRL compilation errors and invalid condition expressions in transforms before any environment resources are available. Design: - Add validate(&TransformContext) to TransformConfig; remap and filter implement it to compile VRL programs and conditions respectively - route, exclusive_route, and sample also validate their condition fields - Introduce validate_transforms(), called in both --no-environment and normal validate paths, which builds stub enrichment tables from the config so VRL can resolve table name references without loading data - Remove the validate() call from check_outputs: that function is for graph/wiring checks only; transform compilation belongs in validate_transforms() - Short-circuit environment checks when transform validation fails to avoid running health checks against external services for known-invalid configs - Add transforms-filter and transforms-aws_ec2_metadata to cli-tests feature set so the new integration tests compile correctly - Convert all CLI integration test configs to YAML; add create_yaml_file helper so test files carry the .yaml extension Vector uses for format detection Fixes #15037

… cli-test features check_outputs checks output port names against reserved names using get_transform_output_ids, which includes auto-generated ports like the _unmatched output that route/exclusive_route emit by default. Checking _unmatched there falsely rejects all valid route configs. The reserved route name check belongs in route::validate (called via validate_transforms), not in the shared graph validation path. Also add transforms-filter and transforms-aws_ec2_metadata to the cli-tests feature set so the new integration tests compile in CI.

…t transform validation Clean separation between two distinct validation concerns: - validate(): structural config checks (reserved names, duplicate routes, invalid sample rates). Always safe to call, runs via check_outputs on every config load path including normal startup and reload. - validate_env(): environment-dependent checks (VRL compilation, condition building). Called only by validate_transforms() in vector validate with a real TransformContext that includes stub enrichment tables. remap and filter implement validate_env() for VRL/condition compilation. route, exclusive_route, and sample split their existing validate() into structural checks (validate) and condition compilation (validate_env). validate_transforms() calls both on each transform. Also adds a negative integration test asserting that an invalid filter condition is caught under --no-environment.

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…uce transforms These transforms compile AnyCondition fields only in build(), so invalid conditions were silently accepted under --no-environment. Now validate_env() covers: delay.condition, window.forward_when/flush_when, throttle.exclude, and reduce.ends_when/starts_when.

…ironment-vrl

…to validate() Constraints that don't require environment resources were previously only checked inside build(), so they weren't caught by vector validate --no-environment or normal config compilation: - delay: zero delay duration - throttle: zero threshold or window_secs - reduce: mutually exclusive ends_when/starts_when

…ironment-vrl

validate_merge_strategies() in transform.rs only ran during build(), so --no-environment silently accepted indexed paths like foo[0]. Move the check into ReduceConfig::validate() so it runs on all config load paths.

…s of transform errors Gating validate_environment on the transform pass result meant a VRL error would suppress environment/component errors, giving users an incomplete error picture. Both passes now run independently and their results are combined.

github-actions Bot added the domain: transforms Anything related to Vector's transform components label Apr 10, 2026

This was referenced Apr 10, 2026

aws_ec2_metadata performs network initialization in build() #25162

Open

Validate no-environment should perform transform/filter VRL checks #15037

Open

pront force-pushed the codex/fix-validate-no-environment-vrl branch 3 times, most recently from e9d4c36 to fd1b169 Compare June 18, 2026 12:48

github-actions Bot added the domain: topology Anything related to Vector's topology code label Jun 18, 2026

pront force-pushed the codex/fix-validate-no-environment-vrl branch 3 times, most recently from ed733f4 to 8b87dfe Compare June 18, 2026 14:36

pront changed the title ~~fix(cli): validate transform VRL with --no-environment~~ fix(cli): validate VRL with --no-environment Jun 18, 2026

pront force-pushed the codex/fix-validate-no-environment-vrl branch 2 times, most recently from 187f6f2 to 33903f0 Compare June 18, 2026 18:21

github-actions Bot removed the domain: topology Anything related to Vector's topology code label Jun 18, 2026

pront force-pushed the codex/fix-validate-no-environment-vrl branch 3 times, most recently from 607ad63 to 5465781 Compare June 22, 2026 19:55

pront force-pushed the codex/fix-validate-no-environment-vrl branch from 5465781 to 2504092 Compare June 22, 2026 20:03

github-actions Bot added the docs review on hold The documentation team reviews PRs only after a PR is approved by the COSE team. label Jun 22, 2026

pront force-pushed the codex/fix-validate-no-environment-vrl branch 2 times, most recently from fb35df8 to 54393be Compare June 22, 2026 20:07

github-actions Bot removed the domain: external docs Anything related to Vector's external, public documentation label Jun 22, 2026

pront marked this pull request as ready for review June 22, 2026 20:09

pront requested a review from a team as a code owner June 22, 2026 20:09

chatgpt-codex-connector Bot reviewed Jun 22, 2026

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Comment thread src/validate.rs

Comment thread src/validate.rs

pront force-pushed the codex/fix-validate-no-environment-vrl branch from 54393be to 24d9506 Compare June 22, 2026 20:36

pront force-pushed the codex/fix-validate-no-environment-vrl branch from 24d9506 to b3e7b2a Compare June 22, 2026 20:39

chatgpt-codex-connector Bot reviewed Jun 22, 2026

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Comment thread src/config/validation.rs Outdated

Comment thread src/config/validation.rs Outdated

Comment thread tests/integration/cli.rs

pront force-pushed the codex/fix-validate-no-environment-vrl branch from b3e7b2a to 6077a2f Compare June 22, 2026 21:51

pront added 2 commits June 22, 2026 19:32

chatgpt-codex-connector Bot reviewed Jun 23, 2026

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Comment thread src/config/transform.rs

pront added 6 commits June 23, 2026 11:20

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/master' into fix/validate-no-env…

8aa15c3

…ironment-vrl

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/master' into fix/validate-no-env…

4264ff8

…ironment-vrl

thomasqueirozb approved these changes Jun 25, 2026

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github-actions Bot removed the docs review on hold The documentation team reviews PRs only after a PR is approved by the COSE team. label Jun 25, 2026

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fix(cli): validate VRL with --no-environment#25161

fix(cli): validate VRL with --no-environment#25161
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Summary

Vector configuration

How did you test this PR?

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References

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