Hmbown/CodeWhale · error · anyhow::Error

Prebuilt Codewhale asset `{asset_name}` requires GLIBC_{requ

Error message

Prebuilt Codewhale asset `{asset_name}` requires GLIBC_{required}, but {host_line}

Official Linux release binaries are GNU libc builds. Ubuntu 22.04 ships glibc
2.35, so it cannot run a binary that was built against Ubuntu 24.04/glibc 2.39.

Install from source on this host instead:

  cargo install codewhale-cli --locked

Release engineering follow-up: build Linux GNU assets against an older glibc
baseline, or add a musl/static Linux asset. Set CODEWHALE_SKIP_GLIBC_CHECK=1 to
bypass this preflight at your own risk.

What it means

Before installing a downloaded prebuilt Linux binary, the updater scans it for the highest required GLIBC_x.y symbol version and compares it to the host's glibc (detected via `getconf GNU_LIBC_VERSION`). If the host glibc is older than the binary requires, the install is refused with a message naming the asset, the required version, and the host line, because the binary would crash at startup with 'version GLIBC_2.xx not found'.

Source

Thrown at crates/cli/src/update.rs:1653

}

fn preflight_downloaded_binary(asset_name: &str, bytes: &[u8]) -> Result<()> {
    // GNU libc preflight is Linux-only (#4241). Rust treats `target_os = "android"`
    // as distinct from `"linux"`, so Termux/Android builds skip this check entirely
    // — Android uses Bionic libc, not glibc.
    if !cfg!(target_os = "linux") || glibc_check_disabled() {
        return Ok(());
    }

    let Some(required) = highest_required_glibc(bytes) else {
        return Ok(());
    };
    let host = detect_host_glibc();
    if host.is_some_and(|host| host >= required) {
        return Ok(());
    }

    bail!(
        "{}",
        glibc_compatibility_message(asset_name, required, host)
    );
}

fn detect_host_glibc() -> Option<GlibcVersion> {
    let getconf = std::process::Command::new("getconf")
        .arg("GNU_LIBC_VERSION")
        .output()
        .ok()
        .filter(|output| output.status.success())
        .and_then(|output| String::from_utf8(output.stdout).ok())
        .and_then(|output| parse_glibc_version(&output));
    if getconf.is_some() {
        return getconf;
    }

    std::process::Command::new("ldd")

View on GitHub (pinned to 0c42157ee5)

Solutions

1. Install from source on this host: `cargo install codewhale-cli --locked` (as the error message instructs)
2. Upgrade the host to a distribution whose glibc meets or exceeds the required version shown in the message
3. As a last resort set CODEWHALE_SKIP_GLIBC_CHECK=1 to bypass the preflight — the binary will likely still fail at exec with a loader error, at your own risk
4. If you release your own builds, build Linux GNU assets against an older glibc baseline or add a musl/static asset (the follow-up named in the message)

Example fix

# before (Ubuntu 22.04, glibc 2.35)
$ codewhale update
Prebuilt Codewhale asset `...gnu.tar.gz` requires GLIBC_2.39 ...

# after
$ cargo install codewhale-cli --locked
# or: CODEWHALE_SKIP_GLIBC_CHECK=1 codewhale update  # not recommended

// Pre-check host glibc before offering a prebuilt update:
let host = std::process::Command::new("getconf")
    .arg("GNU_LIBC_VERSION")
    .output().ok()
    .filter(|o| o.status.success())
    .and_then(|o| String::from_utf8(o.stdout).ok());
// parse "glibc 2.35" and compare against the release's required baseline;
// if host < required, skip the prebuilt path and build from source.

match install_prebuilt_with_glibc_preflight(bytes, asset).await {
    Ok(()) => Ok(()),
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("requires GLIBC_") => {
        // expected on old distros: fall back to source install, do not bypass blindly
        run_cargo_install_locked().await
    }
    Err(e) => Err(e),
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running the updater on an older glibc distro (e.g. Ubuntu 22.04 / glibc 2.35, Debian 11) when the release asset was linked against a newer baseline (e.g. Ubuntu 24.04 / glibc 2.39); host detection succeeds and host < required. Not triggered on non-Linux, when glibc_check_disabled() is true, or when no GLIBC_x.y symbols are found (musl/static assets).

Common situations: Long-Term-Support distros lagging the build baseline; containers based on older base images; CI runners pinned to old Ubuntu images; self-update on a stable server while release engineering moved to a newer builder.

Related errors

• SHA256 mismatch for {} from {}! expected: {expected} act
• Linux riscv64 release assets are temporarily unavailable bec
• release redirect did not resolve to a tag URL: {final_url}
• failed to fetch release redirect from {url}: HTTP {status} {
• failed to install new binary at {}: {}

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@0c42157ee5 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9949c979bb514126. Report an issue: GitHub.