bug: YAML parse error in config is silently swallowed, login overwrites all other contexts

[gyanranjanpanda]

A tab instead of spaces — or any YAML syntax error — in the config file causes ReadLocalConfig to return an empty config with no error, making every command behave as if the user has never logged in.

The dangerous part: login sees the empty config, treats it as a fresh install, and writes a brand-new file over it. Every other context, server, user and refresh token in the file is gone with no warning.

Root cause

localconfig.go line 103:

err = configUtil.UnmarshalLocalFile(path, &config)
if os.IsNotExist(err) {
    return nil, nil
}
err = ValidateLocalConfig(config)  // parse error is silently overwritten here

Only os.IsNotExist is handled. A YAML parse error falls through and gets immediately overwritten by ValidateLocalConfig. Same bug in ReadLocalWatchConfig.

To reproduce

1. Put a tab on any indented line in ~/.config/microcks/config
2. Run microcks context → reports "no contexts defined" instead of a parse error
3. Run microcks login <any-server> → the file is truncated and rewritten. All previous contexts are gone.

Fix

if err != nil {
    return nil, fmt.Errorf("reading config %s: %w", path, err)
}

Same in ReadLocalWatchConfig. After this, nil, nil keeps its only meaning — file doesn't exist — and fresh-install logic stays untouched.

There is no test for malformed input in config_test.go, which is how this went unnoticed.

[gyanranjanpanda]

what is @Harsh4902 @Vaishnav88sk view on this