Hmbown/CodeWhale · error · std::io::Error

session '{session_id}' is open in an interactive Codewhale s

Error message

session '{session_id}' is open in an interactive Codewhale session; change it there instead — an external write would be reverted by its next autosave

What it means

live_session_conflict is the sentinel the session manager returns (io::ErrorKind::ResourceBusy) when an external writer tries to rename or archive a session that a live interactive Codewhale process currently owns; the write is refused because the owning session's autosave would revert it.

Source

Thrown at crates/tui/src/session_manager.rs:281

}

/// Is this session currently owned by **this process's** interactive surface?
///
/// The registry is process-local. Reclamation must not treat a missing entry
/// here as proof that no other Codewhale process still owns the directory.
#[must_use]
pub fn is_live_session(session_id: &str) -> bool {
    live_sessions()
        .read()
        .is_ok_and(|live| live.contains(session_id))
}

/// The error an external writer gets when the session is live.
///
/// `ResourceBusy` so callers can map it to a typed conflict rather than
/// pattern-matching on a message.
fn live_session_conflict(session_id: &str) -> std::io::Error {
    std::io::Error::new(
        std::io::ErrorKind::ResourceBusy,
        format!(
            "session '{session_id}' is open in an interactive Codewhale session; \
             change it there instead — an external write would be reverted by its next autosave"
        ),
    )
}

/// File-name stem of the sidecar mapping session ids to the session
/// instance (process boot) that created their persisted record. Lives in
/// the sessions directory next to the `<id>.json` records it describes.
const SESSION_BOOT_OWNERS_STEM: &str = "session_boot_owners";

static SESSION_BOOT_ID: std::sync::OnceLock<String> = std::sync::OnceLock::new();

/// Identity of this running session instance (one per process boot).
///
/// Mirrors the `SubAgentManager` boot id from #405: persisted records are

View on GitHub (pinned to 0c42157ee5)

Solutions

1. Perform the rename/archive inside the interactive session that owns it.
2. Close the interactive session first, then retry the external change.
3. Treat the ResourceBusy error as a typed conflict and surface it rather than retrying blindly.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/tui/src/session_manager.rs:281 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/4523abaa7cad44f2. Report an issue: GitHub.