Hmbown/CodeWhale · error · anyhow::Error

no executable search path is configured

Error message

no executable search path is configured

What it means

The read-only executor resolves the program binary itself against PATH so workspace entries can be excluded from the search; if `std::env::var_os("PATH")` returns None the resolution cannot even start and this error is returned. The Codewhale process was launched with no PATH at all, so every read-only command will fail the same way until the environment is fixed.

Source

Thrown at crates/tui/src/tools/shell.rs:3883

    let workspace = workspace.canonicalize().ok()?;
    let safe = std::env::split_paths(path).filter_map(|entry| {
        if !entry.is_absolute() {
            return None;
        }
        let resolved = entry.canonicalize().ok()?;
        (!resolved.starts_with(&workspace)).then_some(resolved)
    });
    std::env::join_paths(safe).ok()
}

fn readonly_sanitized_path(workspace: &std::path::Path) -> Option<String> {
    let path = std::env::var_os("PATH")?;
    readonly_sanitized_path_from(workspace, &path).map(|value| value.to_string_lossy().into_owned())
}

fn resolve_readonly_program(program: &str, workspace: &std::path::Path) -> Result<PathBuf> {
    let path = std::env::var_os("PATH")
        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("no executable search path is configured"))?;
    resolve_readonly_program_from_path(program, workspace, &path)
}

fn resolve_readonly_program_from_path(
    program: &str,
    workspace: &std::path::Path,
    path: &std::ffi::OsStr,
) -> Result<PathBuf> {
    let workspace = workspace.canonicalize()?;
    if std::path::Path::new(program).components().count() != 1 {
        return Err(anyhow!(
            "read-only command must name a bare allowlisted executable"
        ));
    }
    let safe_path = readonly_sanitized_path_from(&workspace, path).ok_or_else(|| {
        anyhow!("no trusted executable search path remains outside the workspace")
    })?;
    let names = if cfg!(windows) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 0c42157ee5)

Solutions

1. Set PATH to include standard system bin dirs (/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/bin) before starting the TUI
2. For systemd services, add an explicit `Environment=PATH=...` directive to the unit
3. Fail fast at startup with a clear configuration error instead of discovering it at the first read-only command
4. For tests, re-inject a minimal PATH before exercising the readonly path

Example fix

# before: launched with a scrubbed environment
env -i codewhale tui
# after: keep a sane PATH
env -i PATH=/usr/bin:/bin codewhale tui

let Some(path) = std::env::var_os("PATH") else {
    return Err(anyhow!("PATH is unset; set it before starting Codewhale"));
};
if std::env::split_paths(&path).next().is_none() {
    return Err(anyhow!("PATH is empty"));
}

fn path_configured() -> bool {
    std::env::var_os("PATH").is_some_and(|p| std::env::split_paths(&p).next().is_some())
}

if let Err(err) = run_readonly_command(&command) {
    if err.to_string().contains("no executable search path is configured") {
        return Err(anyhow!("environment misconfigured: PATH is unset; restart with a sane PATH"));
    }
    return Err(err);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running the TUI/headless exec host under an environment with PATH unset: `env -i`, minimal systemd units without `Environment=PATH=...`, container configs that define PATH only for login shells, or tests that clear the environment before dispatching a read-only command.

Common situations: Launching from wrappers or service managers that sanitize the environment; CI jobs with scrubbed env; debugging sessions started with a stripped env.

Related errors

• no trusted executable search path remains outside the worksp
• git not found on PATH
• git not found
• config path cannot be empty
• config path must include a file name

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@0c42157ee5 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/51fd15b6a25e7f8e. Report an issue: GitHub.