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

workspace too large for snapshots: over

Error message

workspace too large for snapshots: over {cap_bytes} bytes of snapshot-eligible content in {workspace}

What it means

open_or_init_with_cap estimates snapshot-eligible workspace content via estimate_workspace_size_bounded against cap_bytes; when the estimate exceeds the cap the gate error's describe() is returned as ErrorKind::InvalidInput. This protects against building enormous snapshot repos; large workspaces get aggressive pruning only after the repo exists.

Solutions

Add large generated content to .gitignore so it is not snapshot-eligible, and clean build artifacts.
Raise the size cap (MAX_SNAPSHOT_SIZE_MB-derived cap_bytes) if the workspace legitimately needs it.
Move the large data out of the workspace or exclude it from the snapshot workspace path.

Example fix

// before: workspace with 5GB of artifacts
// .gitignore missing
// after
echo -e "target/\ndist/\n*.iso\nnode_modules/" >> .gitignore

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// estimate eligible bytes before opening
let eligible: u64 = WalkDir::new(workspace)
    .filter_entry(|e| !is_ignored(e))
    .filter_map(|e| e.metadata().ok())
    .filter(|m| m.is_file())
    .map(|m| m.len())
    .sum();
if eligible > cap_bytes { eprintln!("workspace exceeds snapshot cap"); }

Try / catch

match open_or_init_with_cap(ws, cap) {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("too large for snapshots") => eprintln!("gitignore large artifacts or raise MAX_SNAPSHOT_SIZE_MB"),
    r => r?,
}

Prevention

Keep .gitignore current for build outputs and datasets
Store large data outside the workspace
Raise MAX_SNAPSHOT_SIZE_MB deliberately for known-large workspaces

When it happens

Trigger: Calling open_or_init_with_cap on a workspace whose estimated snapshot-eligible bytes exceed cap_bytes within SIZE_WALK_MAX_ENTRIES walked entries.

Common situations: Opening codewhale in a directory containing large datasets, build artifacts, videos, or node_modules outside .gitignore; workspaces that grew past the cap mid-session.

Understand the failure class

Background: "File too large" / "file size exceeds limit" errors: why libraries cap file sizes and how to fix them — this error's family across 46 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of Hmbown/CodeWhale@433685b202 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4f854adb8bc60c40. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/tui/src/snapshot/repo.rs:348

            ));
        }

        let _ = ensure_snapshot_dir(&work_tree)?;
        let git_dir = snapshot_git_dir(&work_tree);

        let needs_init = !git_dir.exists();
        if needs_init {
            // First-init size guard. Skipping this on subsequent opens
            // is intentional: paying a workspace walk on every snapshot
            // would defeat the purpose of the cap, and a workspace
            // that fit on first init is allowed to grow within the
            // existing repo's `MAX_SNAPSHOT_SIZE_MB` budget. Users on
            // workspaces that grew past the cap mid-session get the
            // existing aggressive-pruning path in `snapshot()`.
            if let Err(gate) =
                estimate_workspace_size_bounded(&work_tree, cap_bytes, SIZE_WALK_MAX_ENTRIES)
            {
                return Err(io::Error::new(
                    io::ErrorKind::InvalidInput,
                    gate.describe(cap_bytes, workspace),
                ));
            }
            let parent = git_dir.parent().ok_or_else(|| {
                io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::InvalidInput, "snapshot dir has no parent")
            })?;
            std::fs::create_dir_all(parent)?;
            // `git init` here uses the parent directory as the work tree
            // and stores metadata in `.git`. We then continue to use
            // explicit `--git-dir` / `--work-tree` flags for every other
            // command so behaviour is invariant of cwd.
            let init = crate::dependencies::Git::command()
                .ok_or_else(|| io_other("git not found on PATH"))?
                .arg("init")
                .arg("--quiet")
                .arg(parent)
                .output()

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