requiring sls file containing only includes fail

I have the following file structure:

includetest/init.sls
includetest/subtestfile.sls
includetest/testfile.sls

init.sls:

include:
  - includetest.testfile

/home/deploy/testfile2.txt:
  file.managed:
    - contents: Hello
    - require:
      - sls: includetest.testfile

testfile.sls:

include:
  - .subtestfile

subtestfile.sls:

/home/deploy/subtestfile.txt:
  file.managed:
    - contents: Hello

When running salt-call state.sls includetest, I get:

    State: - file
    Name:      /home/deploy/testfile2.txt
    Function:  managed
        Result:    False
        Comment:   The following requisites were not found:
                   require:
                       sls: includetest.testfile

Playing around a bit, it appears that this is caused by requiring a file containing only includes. A workaround is to modify testfile.sls to do some arbitrary work.

Is this a bug or by design? My use-case is to have a file including a bunch of states and requiring that file from various places. (Tested on 0.17.5)

[Reiner030]

Belated happy 3rd birthday to this bug 😉 Is there sometimes a fix to be in sight? Since on other usages this multilevel references are unproblematic (pillar, grains, sls references for includes) it shouldn’t be too problematic / difficult to get here also a solution?

The above mentioned workaround could /has to be used then but I was just trying to avoid single state reference and use a whole sls as required_in because saltstack likes to play dice with state ordering already also in the referenced sls

[kiemlicz]

I think it is still an issue