Sonarr/Sonarr · error · RecycleBinException

Unable to create the folder '{destinationFolder}' in the rec

Error message

Unable to create the folder '{destinationFolder}' in the recycling bin for the file '{fileInfo.Name}'

What it means

RecycleBinException (a DirectoryNotFoundException subclass) thrown when CreateFolder for the recycle-bin destination subfolder raises IOException. Preserves the inner IOException so callers can inspect the real OS error.

Source

Thrown at src/NzbDrone.Core/MediaFiles/RecycleBinProvider.cs:103

                _logger.Debug("File has been permanently deleted: {0}", path);

                return null;
            }
            else
            {
                var fileInfo = new FileInfo(path);
                var destinationFolder = Path.Combine(recyclingBin, subfolder);
                var destination = Path.Combine(destinationFolder, fileInfo.Name);

                try
                {
                    _logger.Debug("Creating folder {0}", destinationFolder);
                    _diskProvider.CreateFolder(destinationFolder);
                }
                catch (IOException e)
                {
                    _logger.Error(e, "Unable to create the folder '{0}' in the recycling bin for the file '{1}'", destinationFolder, fileInfo.Name);
                    throw new RecycleBinException($"Unable to create the folder '{destinationFolder}' in the recycling bin for the file '{fileInfo.Name}'", e);
                }

                var index = 1;
                while (_diskProvider.FileExists(destination))
                {
                    index++;
                    if (fileInfo.Extension.IsNullOrWhiteSpace())
                    {
                        destination = Path.Combine(destinationFolder, fileInfo.Name + "_" + index);
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        destination = Path.Combine(destinationFolder, Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(fileInfo.Name) + "_" + index + fileInfo.Extension);
                    }
                }

                try
                {

View on GitHub (pinned to da2284d7ea)

Solutions

1. Check Sonarr has create-directory permission on the configured recycle bin root.
2. Confirm the recycle bin path exists and is on a writable volume with free space.
3. Sanitize the subfolder for invalid path characters before combining.
4. If the recycle bin is unavailable, disable 'Use Recycle Bin' to delete directly.

Example fix

// before
_diskProvider.CreateFolder(destinationFolder);

// after: ensure parent exists, then create
_diskProvider.CreateFolder(_diskProvider.GetParentFolder(destinationFolder));
_diskProvider.CreateFolder(destinationFolder);

var dest = Path.Combine(recyclingBin, subfolder);
var parent = _diskProvider.GetParentFolder(dest);
if (!_diskProvider.FolderExists(parent))
    _diskProvider.CreateFolder(parent);
// now safe to CreateFolder(dest)

try { _recycleBinProvider.DeleteFile(path, subfolder); }
catch (RecycleBinException ex) when (ex.InnerException is IOException)
{ _logger.Error(ex, "Recycle bin folder creation failed"); /* alert ops */ }

When it happens

Trigger: DeleteFile is asked to move a file into the recycle bin under a subfolder (relative path of the original); creating Path.Combine(recyclingBin, subfolder) fails with IOException.

Common situations: Recycle bin path on a read-only volume; invalid characters in the subfolder; insufficient permissions to create directories; recycle bin root doesn't exist and parent isn't creatable; disk full.

Related errors

• Unable to move '{path}' to the recycling bin: '{destination}
• Unable to delete episode file
• Directory doesn't exist. {path}
• File doesn't exist: {path}
• Source and destination can't be the same {0}

AI-assisted analysis of Sonarr/Sonarr@da2284d7ea (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/047215f85c6bdaf0. Report an issue: GitHub.