`target_group` should be called `static_config` in error messages

[cherti]

if you provide:

static_configs:
  - files:
    - /path/to/files*.json

in prometheus.yml (which is wrong, it should be file_sd_configs instead of static_configs) at least promtool complains about:
FAILED: unknown fields in target_group: files

This error is quite misleading and makes it harder to locate the actual problem.

My short digging into the topic revealed that something might be calling checkOverflow with a wrongly labeled context, but I haven't digged too far, I must admit.

[brian-brazil]

This error is correct, and I'm not sure we can do much about it. Knowing that you meant a different SD mechanism one level up in the config would require quite a bit of sophistication, which I'm not sure is possible.

[cherti]

although I think I see how the error comes into place technically, could you line out how you mean "correct" here with regard of promtool complaining about an error in a field that is not specified?

To be more specific: I do not see yet how this is correctly labeled as an unknown field in target_group, as the latter is not specified there.
Maybe a change in formulation could already clarify things.

[brian-brazil]

static_configs is a list of target_groups, files is not a field of target_group.

[cherti]

so the error reads as files not being of type target_group, correct?

[brian-brazil]

No, that files is not a field of the type target_group.

[cherti]

ok, that's what I meant, thanks for clarifying.

For my reading/understanding of the message, the error is wrong then. At least the colon has to go imo, because to me it looks like a separator with files being the unknown field in a target_group somewhere in the config file.

[brian-brazil]

That is what the message means.

[beorn7]

In different news:

target_group is outdated, it should read static_config.
Perhaps that clears a bit of the misunderstanding.

[beorn7]

Changed issue title accordingly.

[lock]

This thread has been automatically locked since there has not been any recent activity after it was closed. Please open a new issue for related bugs.