Google Pub/Sub INVALID_SUBSCRIPTION_NAME error encountered when trying to create or manage a subscription.

What is Google Pub/Sub INVALID_SUBSCRIPTION_NAME error encountered when trying to create or manage a subscription.

Understanding Google Pub/Sub

Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a messaging service designed to provide reliable, many-to-many, asynchronous messaging between applications. It enables developers to send and receive messages between independent applications, ensuring that messages are delivered in a timely and reliable manner. Pub/Sub is often used in event-driven architectures and for decoupling systems, allowing for scalable and flexible application design.

Identifying the Symptom

When working with Google Pub/Sub, you might encounter the INVALID_SUBSCRIPTION_NAME error. This error typically appears when you attempt to create or manage a subscription, and the operation fails due to an improperly formatted subscription name.

What You See

The error message will usually look something like this:

ERROR: (gcloud.pubsub.subscriptions.create) INVALID_ARGUMENT: Invalid subscription name.

This indicates that the subscription name provided does not meet the required format.

Understanding the Issue

The INVALID_SUBSCRIPTION_NAME error occurs because the subscription name does not conform to the expected naming conventions. In Google Pub/Sub, subscription names must follow a specific format to be valid.

Required Format

The correct format for a subscription name is:

projects/{project_id}/subscriptions/{subscription_name}

Here, {project_id} is your Google Cloud project ID, and {subscription_name} is the name you choose for your subscription. The subscription name must be a valid string that adheres to Pub/Sub naming rules.

Steps to Fix the Issue

To resolve the INVALID_SUBSCRIPTION_NAME error, follow these steps:

Step 1: Verify the Subscription Name Format

Ensure that your subscription name is prefixed with projects/{project_id}/subscriptions/. Check that the {subscription_name} part is a valid string. It should only contain letters, numbers, dashes, underscores, and periods. The subscription name should not exceed 255 characters.

Step 2: Use the Correct Command

When creating a subscription via the command line, use the following command:

gcloud pubsub subscriptions create projects/{project_id}/subscriptions/{subscription_name} --topic=projects/{project_id}/topics/{topic_name}

Replace {project_id}, {subscription_name}, and {topic_name} with your actual project ID, desired subscription name, and topic name, respectively.

Step 3: Validate with the Google Cloud Console

You can also create and manage subscriptions through the Google Cloud Console. Navigate to the Pub/Sub section, and ensure that your subscription name is correctly formatted when creating a new subscription.

Additional Resources

For more information on naming conventions and best practices, refer to the Google Cloud Pub/Sub Documentation. This resource provides comprehensive guidelines on naming and managing resources in Pub/Sub.

By following these steps and ensuring your subscription names are correctly formatted, you can avoid the INVALID_SUBSCRIPTION_NAME error and successfully manage your Pub/Sub subscriptions.