Hmbown/CodeWhale · error

Refusing a non-regular settings lock at {}

Error message

Refusing a non-regular settings lock at {}

What it means

Settings lock hardening: the opened lock file's metadata shows it is not a regular file (e.g. a fifo or device planted at settings.toml.lock). Locking through such a node could block or be manipulated, so the code refuses and names the offending path.

Source

Thrown at crates/tui/src/settings.rs:2149

    let lock_file = options
        .open(&lock_path)
        .with_context(|| format!("Failed to open settings lock at {}", lock_path.display()))?;
    #[cfg(unix)]
    {
        use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt as _;
        lock_file
            .set_permissions(fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o600))
            .with_context(|| {
                format!("Failed to secure settings lock at {}", lock_path.display())
            })?;
    }
    if !lock_file
        .metadata()
        .with_context(|| format!("Failed to inspect settings lock at {}", lock_path.display()))?
        .file_type()
        .is_file()
    {
        anyhow::bail!(
            "Refusing a non-regular settings lock at {}",
            lock_path.display()
        );
    }

    let mut lock = fd_lock::RwLock::new(lock_file);
    let _guard = lock
        .write()
        .with_context(|| format!("Failed to acquire settings lock at {}", lock_path.display()))?;
    operation()
}

/// Refuse to lock through a symlink: a planted `settings.toml.lock -> …` would
/// otherwise let an attacker pick which file we create with our permissions.
fn reject_settings_lock_symlink(lock_path: &Path) -> Result<()> {
    match std::fs::symlink_metadata(lock_path) {
        Ok(metadata) if metadata.file_type().is_symlink() => anyhow::bail!(
            "Refusing a symlinked settings lock at {}",

View on GitHub (pinned to 0c42157ee5)

Solutions

1. Delete the non-regular settings.toml.lock
2. Retry the settings operation

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/tui/src/settings.rs:2149 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@0c42157ee5 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ea13a17f4a9543a8. Report an issue: GitHub.