TeamNewPipe/NewPipe · error · RuntimeException

Cache dir does not exist >

Error message

Cache dir does not exist > 

What it means

Thrown by StateSaver when the cache directory path (cacheDirPath) passed to the save routine does not exist as a file/directory on disk. StateSaver persists download/playback state to a cache directory; it first checks cacheDir.exists() and throws a RuntimeException if false. This is a hard precondition: the parent cache path must already exist before state can be saved into a subdirectory beneath it.

Source

Thrown at app/src/main/java/org/schabi/newpipe/util/StateSaver.java:228

        final LinkedList<Object> savedObjects = new LinkedList<>();
        writeRead.writeTo(savedObjects);

        if (isChangingConfig) {
            if (savedObjects.size() > 0) {
                STATE_OBJECTS_HOLDER.put(prefixFileName, savedObjects);
                return new SavedState(prefixFileName, "");
            } else {
                if (MainActivity.DEBUG) {
                    Log.d(TAG, "Nothing to save");
                }
                return null;
            }
        }

        try {
            File cacheDir = new File(cacheDirPath);
            if (!cacheDir.exists()) {
                throw new RuntimeException("Cache dir does not exist > " + cacheDirPath);
            }
            cacheDir = new File(cacheDir, CACHE_DIR_NAME);
            if (!cacheDir.exists()) {
                if (!cacheDir.mkdir()) {
                    if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
                        Log.e(TAG,
                                "Failed to create cache directory " + cacheDir.getAbsolutePath());
                    }
                    return null;
                }
            }

            final File file = new File(cacheDir, prefixFileName
                    + (TextUtils.isEmpty(suffixFileName) ? ".cache" : suffixFileName));
            if (file.exists() && file.length() > 0) {
                // If the file already exists, just return it
                return new SavedState(prefixFileName, file.getAbsolutePath());
            } else {

View on GitHub (pinned to 9e8be09156)

Solutions

1. Use context.getCacheDir() (internal, always available) as the cache path rather than external storage.
2. Recreate the cache directory (mkdirs) before passing the path to StateSaver if it may have been removed.
3. Catch the RuntimeException and skip state-saving gracefully (state is cache; loss is non-fatal).
4. Validate cacheDir.exists() and fall back to an alternate location at app startup.

Example fix

// before
File cacheDir = new File(cacheDirPath);
if (!cacheDir.exists()) {
    throw new RuntimeException("Cache dir does not exist > " + cacheDirPath);
}

// after — recreate or fall back
File cacheDir = new File(cacheDirPath);
if (!cacheDir.exists() && !cacheDir.mkdirs()) {
    cacheDir = context.getCacheDir(); // internal fallback
}
if (!cacheDir.exists()) {
    return null; // state-saving is best-effort
}

// Ensure the cache directory exists before StateSaver uses it:
File cacheDir = new File(cacheDirPath);
if (!cacheDir.exists() && !cacheDir.mkdirs()) {
    cacheDirPath = context.getCacheDir().getAbsolutePath(); // internal fallback
}

try {
    SavedState state = StateSaver.saveState(...);
} catch (RuntimeException e) {
    if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().startsWith("Cache dir does not exist")) {
        // cache is gone — state saving is best-effort, skip silently
        Log.w(TAG, "Cache dir missing, skipping state save", e);
    } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: StateSaver.saveState or the underlying method receives a cacheDirPath whose File does not exist(). The check at line 226 fails. Occurs when the external cache dir (getExternalFilesDir result) was on a just-unmounted SD card, when the app's cache was cleared by the OS under storage pressure, or when an invalid/nonexistent path was configured.

Common situations: Removable storage unmounted between sessions; the OS purged the app's cache directory; a path pointing to external storage that isn't mounted on this device; running on a device where getExternalFilesDir returned a path that was then removed.

Related errors

• path to pending downloads are not accessible
• No write permissions on {}
• Failed to create the tree from Uri
• Cannot create the file
• SAF not available

AI-assisted analysis of TeamNewPipe/NewPipe@9e8be09156 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8ce25fc2284de9d8. Report an issue: GitHub.