LGUG2Z/komorebi · error

could not connect to komorebi.sock

Error message

could not connect to komorebi.sock

What it means

Inside the static-config file watcher, on any config Modify/Remove event komorebi forwards the new bytes over a Unix domain socket at DATA_DIR/komorebi.sock, panicking if UnixStream::connect fails. This happens when no komorebi instance is listening on the socket (komorebi not running, stale socket file, or killed process).

Solutions

1. Start komorebi before (re)saving the config so a listener exists on the socket
2. Delete the stale komorebi.sock file in DATA_DIR and restart komorebi
3. Restart komorebic watch configuration after restarting komorebi
4. Replace the expect with graceful error logging so the watcher survives a dead socket

Example fix

// before
UnixStream::connect(socket).expect("could not connect to komorebi.sock");
// after
if let Err(e) = UnixStream::connect(socket) {
    tracing::error!("could not connect to komorebi.sock: {e}");
    return;
}

// confirm komorebi is listening before saving config / running komorebic watch
let sock = data_dir.join("komorebi.sock");
if !sock.exists() { eprintln!("komorebi not running: {sock:?} missing"); }

When it happens

Trigger: Saving or touching the watched static config file while the socket at DATA_DIR/komorebi.sock does not exist or refuses connection — komorebi not running, crashed, or a stale .sock left behind.

Common situations: Editing komorebi.json while komorebi is stopped; a stale komorebi.sock after an unclean shutdown; the `komorebic watch` helper outliving the main process.

Understand the failure class

Background: ECONNREFUSED and "connection refused" / "could not connect to server" errors: what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 44 libraries.

Related errors

• could not write to komorebi.sock
• could not find home dir
• could not load configuration
• could not load configuration
• could not subscribe to komorebi notifications

AI-assisted analysis of LGUG2Z/komorebi@e0709f02bf (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6a3ba5c9a941636e. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at komorebi/src/static_config.rs:1399

        #[allow(deprecated)]
        match value.focus_follows_mouse {
            None => WindowsApi::disable_focus_follows_mouse()?,
            Some(FocusFollowsMouseImplementation::Windows) => {
                WindowsApi::enable_focus_follows_mouse()?;
            }
            Some(FocusFollowsMouseImplementation::Komorebi) => {}
        };

        let bytes = SocketMessage::ReloadStaticConfiguration(path.clone()).as_bytes()?;

        wm.hotwatch.watch(path, move |event| match event.kind {
            // Editing in Notepad sends a NoticeWrite while editing in (Neo)Vim sends
            // a NoticeRemove, presumably because of the use of swap files?
            EventKind::Modify(_) | EventKind::Remove(_) => {
                let socket = DATA_DIR.join("komorebi.sock");
                let mut stream =
                    UnixStream::connect(socket).expect("could not connect to komorebi.sock");
                stream
                    .write_all(&bytes)
                    .expect("could not write to komorebi.sock");
            }
            _ => {}
        })?;

        Ok(wm)
    }

    pub fn postload(path: &PathBuf, wm: &Arc<Mutex<WindowManager>>) -> eyre::Result<()> {
        let mut value = Self::read(path)?;
        let mut wm = wm.lock();

        let configs_with_preference: Vec<_> =
            DISPLAY_INDEX_PREFERENCES.read().keys().copied().collect();
        let mut configs_used = Vec::new();

View on GitHub (pinned to e0709f02bf)