BurntSushi/ripgrep · error · CommandError

{}: could not find executable in PATH

Error message

{}: could not find executable in PATH

What it means

Error "{}: could not find executable in PATH" thrown in BurntSushi/ripgrep.

Source

Thrown at crates/cli/src/decompress.rs:487

    for syspath in env::split_paths(&syspaths) {
        if syspath.as_os_str().is_empty() {
            continue;
        }
        let abs_prog = syspath.join(prog);
        if is_exe(&abs_prog) {
            return Ok(abs_prog.to_path_buf());
        }
        if abs_prog.extension().is_none() {
            for extension in ["com", "exe"] {
                let abs_prog = abs_prog.with_extension(extension);
                if is_exe(&abs_prog) {
                    return Ok(abs_prog.to_path_buf());
                }
            }
        }
    }
    let msg = format!("{}: could not find executable in PATH", prog.display());
    return Err(CommandError::io(io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::Other, msg)));
}

fn default_decompression_commands() -> Vec<DecompressionCommand> {
    const ARGS_GZIP: &[&str] = &["gzip", "-d", "-c"];
    const ARGS_BZIP: &[&str] = &["bzip2", "-d", "-c"];
    const ARGS_XZ: &[&str] = &["xz", "-d", "-c"];
    const ARGS_LZ4: &[&str] = &["lz4", "-d", "-c"];
    const ARGS_LZMA: &[&str] = &["xz", "--format=lzma", "-d", "-c"];
    const ARGS_BROTLI: &[&str] = &["brotli", "-d", "-c"];
    const ARGS_ZSTD: &[&str] = &["zstd", "-q", "-d", "-c"];
    const ARGS_UNCOMPRESS: &[&str] = &["uncompress", "-c"];

    fn add(glob: &str, args: &[&str], cmds: &mut Vec<DecompressionCommand>) {
        let bin = match resolve_binary(Path::new(args[0])) {
            Ok(bin) => bin,
            Err(err) => {
                log::debug!("{}", err);
                return;

View on GitHub (pinned to 3fce3b5bb0)

Solutions

1. Install the named decompression executable (e.g. gzip, xz, zstd) and ensure it is on PATH
2. Use a search mode that does not require the missing decompression helper

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/cli/src/decompress.rs:487 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of BurntSushi/ripgrep@3fce3b5bb0 (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /data/errors/a607968ccea22cd7.json. Report an issue: GitHub.