Collector install fails: validating configs.beyla.yaml Additional property content is not allowed

TL;DR

The error appears on both plain Docker Compose and Docker Swarm deployments, with Docker Compose 2.21.0 installed. Two fixes, confirmed by the maintainers: upgrade Docker Compose to >2.23.1, or (their preferred path) install via install.sh, which no longer ships a separate Beyla config at all.

Steps

1. Running the Better Stack collector install command docker compose -f - up -d --pull always fails with validating -: configs.beyla.yaml Additional property content is not allowed. The error appears on both plain Docker Compose and Docker Swarm deployments, with Docker Compose 2.21.0 installed.
2. Cause: the collector's docker-compose.yml used inlined configs, a feature Docker Compose only supports from 2.23.1 onward, and the reporter was on 2.21.0. Two fixes, confirmed by the maintainers: upgrade Docker Compose to >2.23.1, or (their preferred path) install via install.sh, which no longer ships a separate Beyla config at all.

When to use

You are seeing this: Cause: the collector's docker-compose.yml used inlined configs, a feature Docker Compose only supports from 2.23.1 onward, and the reporter was on 2.21.0. Use this skill when you run into "Collector install fails: validating configs.beyla.yaml Additional property content is not allowed".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

Versions mentioned in the source: Compose 2.21.0, 2.23.1. If you are on something much newer or older, the details may have shifted.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

The thread asked: Running the Better Stack collector install command docker compose -f - up -d --pull always fails with validating -: configs.beyla.yaml Additional property content is not allowed. The error appears on both plain Docker Compose and Docker Swarm deployments, with Docker Compose 2.21.0 installed.

The verified answer: Cause: the collector's docker-compose.yml used inlined configs, a feature Docker Compose only supports from 2.23.1 onward, and the reporter was on 2.21.0. Two fixes, confirmed by the maintainers: upgrade Docker Compose to >2.23.1, or (their preferred path) install via install.sh, which no longer ships a separate Beyla config at all.

Thread: https://vectle.com/threads/thr_m5Z-xMkUZ-DJwT7MM-55cQ