AvaloniaUI/Avalonia · error · IOException

Can not create '{name}' because a file with the same name al

Error message

Can not create '{name}' because a file with the same name already exists.

What it means

Thrown by AndroidStorageItem when CreateFolderAsync (the folder-creation path) finds an existing item with the requested name that is an IStorageFile rather than a folder. The Storage Access Framework cannot create a directory where a file already exists, so Avalonia throws IOException to reject the operation.

Source

Thrown at src/Android/Avalonia.Android/Platform/Storage/AndroidStorageItem.cs:204

        }

        return new AndroidStorageFile(Activity, newFile, this);
    }

    public async Task<IStorageFolder?> CreateFolderAsync(string name)
    {
        // Try to return an existing folder to avoid creating folder (1).
        var existingItem = await GetItemAsync(name, true);
        if (existingItem != null)
        {
            if (existingItem is IStorageFolder existingFolder)
            {
                return existingFolder;
            }
            else if (existingItem is IStorageFile)
            {
                // There is an item with the same name but it's not a folder. We can't create a folder in this case.
                throw new IOException($"Can not create '{name}' because a file with the same name already exists.");
            }
        }
        // Create new one and return it.
        var treeUri = GetTreeUri().treeUri;
        var newFolder = CreateDocument(Activity.ContentResolver!, treeUri!, Document.MimeTypeDir, name);
        if (newFolder == null)
        {
            return null;
        }

        return new AndroidStorageFolder(Activity, newFolder, false, this, PermissionRoot);
    }

    public override async Task DeleteAsync()
    {
        if (!await EnsureExternalFilesPermission(false))
        {
            return;

View on GitHub (pinned to 11c5427268)

Solutions

1. Call GetItemAsync(name) first; if the result is an IStorageFile, choose a different name or surface a conflict to the user.
2. Wrap CreateFolderAsync in a try/catch for IOException and offer a rename/retry dialog.
3. Validate generated names against the current listing before creation.

Example fix

// before
var sub = await folder.CreateFolderAsync(name);

// after
var existing = await folder.GetItemAsync(name);
if (existing is IStorageFile)
    throw new InvalidOperationException($"A file named '{name}' already exists.");
var sub = await folder.CreateFolderAsync(name);

// check for an existing file with the same name before creating the folder
var existing = await folder.GetItemAsync(name);
if (existing is IStorageFile)
    throw new IOException($"A file named '{name}' already exists.");
var sub = await folder.CreateFolderAsync(name);

static bool NameIsFreeForFolder(IStorageFolder f, string name) => f.GetItemAsync(name).GetAwaiter().GetResult() is not IStorageFile;

try { return await folder.CreateFolderAsync(name); }
catch (IOException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("file with the same name"))
{ /* prompt rename or pick new name */ throw; }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling CreateFolderAsync(name) when a file (IStorageFile) with the identical name already exists under the target tree URI. The code first calls GetItemAsync(name, true); if it resolves to a file, the exception is thrown.

Common situations: Folder-name collisions with existing files; import/export flows that assume a name is free; bookmarked tree URIs whose contents changed between sessions; UIs that auto-generate folder names without collision checks.

Related errors

• Can not create '{name}' because a directory with the same na
• Failed to open content stream
• result.GetStringExtra("error")
• File path is expected to be an absolute link with "file" or
• Folder path is expected to be an absolute link with "file" o

AI-assisted analysis of AvaloniaUI/Avalonia@11c5427268 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/72ac63144688a5a8. Report an issue: GitHub.