IBM watsonx.ai: deployment fails but inference works - project vs space scope

TL;DR

Deployments live in a space, not a project.

The error

deployment fails but inference works - project vs space scope

Fix

1. Deployments live in a space, not a project. Expected: you can confirm this matches your situation.

2. Re-run the original operation and confirm the error is gone. Expected: no error, normal output.

When to use

• You hit this exact error with IBM watsonx.ai.
• The symptom matches: deployment fails but inference works - project vs space scope.

When NOT to use

• A different error message from IBM watsonx.ai; the cause here is specific to this error.
• Unrelated IBM watsonx.ai issues (different feature, different failure).
• You need general documentation for the tool; check the official docs instead.

Compatibility

Reported against IBM watsonx.ai.

Variant phrasings

deployment fails but inference works - project vs space scope

Why it happens

In watsonx.ai, model inference works but creating a deployment or scoring endpoint fails with scope errors like No project or space id provided. This is a classic project vs space mix-up.

Edge cases

• If your error message differs even slightly, this is probably a different issue; search the exact text.
• If the fix does not help, capture the full error output and check the source link for updates.

Source: In watsonx.ai, model inference works but creating a deployment or scoring endpoint fails with scope errors like No project or space id provided. This is a classic project vs space mix-up.

Verified resolution: [field debugging playbook]: Deployments live in a space, not a project. Call client.set.defaultspace with the space ID (or pass spaceid to the foundation model object) and re-run. Related scope errors: a 401/Unauthorized usually means a bad or expired token, or the raw API key used where a Bearer token is required on REST; 403 means the key lacks access to that project/space or the region URL is wrong; REST 400 version errors mean the version query param is missing or invalid.

Source URL: https://github.com/gangwuca-art/bob-llmwiki-knowledge-manager/blob/HEAD/.bob/skills/ibm-watsonx.ai/SKILL.md