OrchardCMS/OrchardCore · error · FileStoreException

Cannot get file stream because the file

Error message

Cannot get file stream because the file '{path}' does not exist.

What it means

FileSystemStore.GetFileStreamAsync throws FileStoreException when the requested store-relative path does not map to an existing file on disk. Before opening the stream the store calls GetPhysicalPath(path) and checks File.Exists; if absent, it throws this error instead of returning a null stream. It is a guard so callers get a consistent exception type from the IFileStore abstraction rather than a raw FileNotFoundException.

Solutions

1. Call await fileStore.GetFileInfoAsync(path) and verify it is not null (and not a directory) before requesting the stream.
2. Verify the path is store-relative (no leading slash, no app-root or absolute filesystem path) — GetPhysicalPath prefixes the store root, so absolute or double-rooted paths resolve to non-existent locations.
3. Check the file actually exists on disk under the store root and that the process identity has read access to that directory.
4. Wrap the call in try/catch on FileStoreException and fall back to a 404/default-asset response when the file is optional.

Example fix

// before
var stream = await _fileStore.GetFileStreamAsync(model.UserSuppliedPath);

// after
var file = await _fileStore.GetFileInfoAsync(model.UserSuppliedPath);
if (file == null || file.IsDirectory)
{
    return NotFound();
}
var stream = await _fileStore.GetFileStreamAsync(file.Path);

var fileInfo = await fileStore.GetFileInfoAsync(path);
if (fileInfo is null || fileInfo.IsDirectory)
{
    // treat as missing: skip, return 404, etc.
    return;
}

static bool FileExists(IFileStore store, string path) => store.GetFileInfoAsync(path).GetAwaiter().GetResult() is { IsDirectory: false };

try
{
    var stream = await fileStore.GetFileStreamAsync(path);
    using (stream) { /* ... */ }
}
catch (FileStoreException ex)
{
    logger.LogWarning(ex, "File '{Path}' not found in store", path);
    return Results.NotFound();
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling await fileStore.GetFileStreamAsync(path) with a store-relative path (e.g. 'sites/tenant/media/doc.pdf') whose underlying physical file does not exist — wrong path, deleted file, or a directory path instead of a file path.

Common situations: Path built from user input or a content-item field without checking GetFileInfoAsync first; file deleted by another process or cleanup job between listing and reading; media stored on a different volume/tenant than the one queried; case-sensitivity mismatch on Linux causing the physical path to miss.

Understand the failure class

Background: "File not found" and ENOENT errors: why libraries can't find a file that should exist — this error's family across 50 libraries.

Related errors

• Cannot copy file ' ' because it does not exist.
• Cannot copy file ' ' because it does not exist.
• Cannot get file stream because the file
• Cannot move file ' ' because it does not exist.
• The file ' ' does not exist.

AI-assisted analysis of OrchardCMS/OrchardCore@4306c0717f (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d9c60a1f8af1a00a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/OrchardCore/OrchardCore.FileStorage.FileSystem/FileSystemStore.cs:315

        catch (FileStoreException)
        {
            throw;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            throw new FileStoreException($"Cannot copy file '{srcPath}' to '{dstPath}'.", ex);
        }
    }

    public Task<Stream> GetFileStreamAsync(string path)
    {
        try
        {
            var physicalPath = GetPhysicalPath(path);

            if (!File.Exists(physicalPath))
            {
                throw new FileStoreException($"Cannot get file stream because the file '{path}' does not exist.");
            }

            var stream = File.OpenRead(physicalPath);

            return Task.FromResult<Stream>(stream);
        }
        catch (FileStoreException)
        {
            throw;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            throw new FileStoreException($"Cannot get file stream of the file '{path}'.", ex);
        }
    }

    public Task<Stream> GetFileStreamAsync(IFileStoreEntry fileStoreEntry)
    {

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