From 41d7bf4bbdaff7d60723e6eb15ee1b9466fe34a6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Zoltan Papp <zoltan.pmail@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:31:07 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] [client] Diagnose empty vs corrupt state (#6816)
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## Describe your changes
When loadStateFile fails to unmarshal the state file, log whether the
file is empty (0 bytes) or has malformed content, including the byte
size.

## Issue ticket number and link

## Stack

<!-- branch-stack -->

### Checklist
- [ ] Is it a bug fix
- [ ] Is a typo/documentation fix
- [x] Is a feature enhancement
- [ ] It is a refactor
- [ ] Created tests that fail without the change (if possible)
- [ ] This change does **not** modify the public API, gRPC protocols,
functionality behavior, CLI / service flags, or introduce a new feature
— **OR** I have discussed it with the NetBird team beforehand (link the
issue / Slack thread in the description). See
[CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#discuss-changes-with-the-netbird-team-first).

> By submitting this pull request, you confirm that you have read and
agree to the terms of the [Contributor License
Agreement](https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/blob/main/CONTRIBUTOR_LICENSE_AGREEMENT.md).

## Documentation
Select exactly one:

- [ ] I added/updated documentation for this change
- [x] Documentation is **not needed** for this change (explain why)

### Docs PR URL (required if "docs added" is checked)
aste the PR link from https://github.com/netbirdio/docs here:

https://github.com/netbirdio/docs/pull/__


<!-- This is an auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai
-->

## Summary by CodeRabbit

* **Bug Fixes**
* Improved state-file loading warnings by distinguishing empty files
from files containing malformed content.
  * Preserved existing recovery behavior for corrupted state files.

<!-- end of auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->
---
 client/internal/statemanager/manager.go | 6 ++++++
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+)

diff --git a/client/internal/statemanager/manager.go b/client/internal/statemanager/manager.go
index 566905985..ca4194690 100644
--- a/client/internal/statemanager/manager.go
+++ b/client/internal/statemanager/manager.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package statemanager
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
@@ -305,6 +306,11 @@ func (m *Manager) loadStateFile(deleteCorrupt bool) (map[string]json.RawMessage,
 
 	var rawStates map[string]json.RawMessage
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &rawStates); err != nil {
+		if len(bytes.TrimSpace(data)) == 0 {
+			log.Warnf("state file %s is empty (%d bytes)", m.filePath, len(data))
+		} else {
+			log.Warnf("state file %s has malformed content (%d bytes)", m.filePath, len(data))
+		}
 		m.handleCorruptedState(deleteCorrupt)
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unmarshal states: %w", err)
 	}