Hmbown/CodeWhale · error · anyhow::Error

Failed to run {program}: {e}

Error message

Failed to run {program}: {e}

What it means

read_text_with_wlpaste_using_argv failed to spawn `wl-paste --no-newline --type text/plain`, the first paste attempt on Linux. The OS error is appended and almost always means the wl-clipboard package is missing or unreachable in PATH. ClipboardHandler::read swallows this and falls back to arboard, so it becomes user-visible only when every read path fails.

Source

Thrown at crates/tui/src/tui/clipboard.rs:570

fn write_text_with_wlcopy(text: &str) -> Result<()> {
    write_text_with_wlcopy_using_argv("wl-copy", text)
}

#[cfg(all(target_os = "linux", not(target_env = "ohos"), not(test)))]
fn read_text_with_wlpaste() -> Result<String> {
    read_text_with_wlpaste_using_argv("wl-paste")
}

#[cfg(any(all(test, unix), all(target_os = "linux", not(target_env = "ohos"))))]
fn read_text_with_wlpaste_using_argv(program: &str) -> Result<String> {
    let output = Command::new(program)
        .arg("--no-newline")
        .arg("--type")
        .arg("text/plain")
        .stdout(Stdio::piped())
        .stderr(Stdio::null())
        .output()
        .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to run {program}: {e}"))?;
    if !output.status.success() {
        bail!("{program} exited with {}", output.status);
    }
    String::from_utf8(output.stdout).context("wl-paste returned non-UTF-8 text")
}

#[cfg(all(target_os = "linux", not(target_env = "ohos"), not(test)))]
fn write_text_with_wlcopy_using_argv(program: &str, text: &str) -> Result<()> {
    let mut child = Command::new(program)
        .stdin(Stdio::piped())
        .stdout(Stdio::null())
        .stderr(Stdio::null())
        .spawn()
        .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to run {program}: {e}"))?;
    if let Some(mut stdin) = child.stdin.take() {
        stdin
            .write_all(text.as_bytes())
            .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to write to {program}: {e}"))?;

View on GitHub (pinned to 0c42157ee5)

Solutions

1. Install wl-clipboard: `apt install wl-clipboard` / `dnf install wl-clipboard` / `pacman -S wl-clipboard`
2. Verify `wl-paste --no-newline --type text/plain` succeeds in the same shell the TUI launches from
3. Ensure PATH includes /usr/bin; restart the TUI after installing

// Rust - check wl-paste presence before attempting a Wayland read
fn wlpaste_available() -> bool {
    which::which("wl-paste").is_ok()
        && std::env::var_os("WAYLAND_DISPLAY").is_some_and(|v| !v.is_empty())
}

if wlpaste_available() { /* try wl-paste first */ } else { skip_to_arboard_fallback(); }

When it happens

Trigger: Command::new("wl-paste").output() returns Err: wl-clipboard not installed, PATH lacking the binary's directory, file present but not executable, or process/resource limits blocking spawn.

Common situations: Fresh distro without wl-clipboard; X11-only sessions; TUI launched from systemd/launcher with minimal PATH; container images.

Related errors

• Failed to write to {program}: {e}
• {program} exited with {}
• {program} exited with {status}
• Failed to run {label}: {e}
• Failed to wait on {program}: {e}

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@0c42157ee5 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ebc3e1b93bf2cdf6. Report an issue: GitHub.