affaan-m/ECC · error

Nasiko install directory must be owned by the current user.

Error message

Nasiko install directory must be owned by the current user.

What it means

On non-Windows platforms, the library checks that the install directory's owning UID matches process.getuid(). If the directory is owned by another user, it throws this error to prevent installing into a location another account controls (a privilege-escalation vector).

Solutions

1. Run the install as the user who owns the directory (matching UID).
2. Chown the directory to the current user: `sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) <dir>`.
3. Choose a different installDir owned by the current user (e.g. ~/.local/bin).
4. Avoid running the installer with sudo into user-owned paths; install per-user instead.

Example fix

// before (directory owned by root)
sudo mkdir -p /opt/nasiko/bin && nasiko install
// after
sudo chown -R "$(id -u):$(id -g)" /opt/nasiko/bin
nasiko install --install-dir /opt/nasiko/bin --yes

const stats = fs.statSync(dir)
if (typeof process.getuid === 'function' && stats.uid !== process.getuid()) {
  throw new Error(`installDir owned by uid ${stats.uid}, not ${process.getuid()}`)
}

try {
  await installNasiko({ installDir: dir, yes: true })
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.includes('owned by the current user')) {
    console.error(`Run: sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) ${dir} — or pick a user-owned installDir`)
  }
  throw e
}

When it happens

Trigger: installNasiko or uninstallNasiko where the install directory's lstat uid differs from the current user — e.g. installDir pointing at /usr/local/bin or another user's home directory while running as an unprivileged user.

Common situations: Trying to install system-wide (/usr/local/bin) without sudo or vice versa (running with sudo but dir owned by user); shared machines where a teammate created the directory; containers where HOME/user was remapped and the directory retains a different UID.

Understand the failure class

Background: "You do not have permission" / 403 Forbidden errors: authenticated but not allowed — causes and fixes across open-source libraries — this error's family across 31 libraries.

Related errors

• Nasiko install directory must not be group- or…
• artifact must be a resident regular file
• artifact path escapes output directory
• artifact path must be canonical and absolute
• artifact permits provider execution

AI-assisted analysis of affaan-m/ECC@8321021c54 (2026-09-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8f0272dc8a9567af. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at scripts/lib/nasiko-release.js:188

  if (typeof directory !== 'string' || directory.includes('\0') || !path.isAbsolute(directory)) throw new Error('Nasiko install directory must be an absolute path.');
  if (/^(?:\\\\|\\\\\?\\|\\\\\.\\)/.test(directory)) throw new Error('Nasiko install directory must be on a local filesystem.');
  const resolved = path.resolve(directory);
  if (resolved === path.parse(resolved).root) throw new Error('Nasiko cannot install directly into a filesystem root.');
  let ancestor = resolved;
  while (!fs.existsSync(ancestor)) {
    const parent = path.dirname(ancestor);
    if (parent === ancestor) throw new Error('Nasiko install directory has no resolvable filesystem ancestor.');
    ancestor = parent;
  }
  const canonical = fs.realpathSync(ancestor);
  return path.join(canonical, path.relative(ancestor, resolved));
}

function assertPrivateInstallDirectory(directory) {
  const stats = fs.lstatSync(directory);
  if (!stats.isDirectory() || stats.isSymbolicLink()) throw new Error('Nasiko install directory must be a real directory, not a symlink.');
  if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
    if (typeof process.getuid === 'function' && stats.uid !== process.getuid()) throw new Error('Nasiko install directory must be owned by the current user.');
    if ((stats.mode & 0o022) !== 0) throw new Error('Nasiko install directory must not be group- or world-writable.');
  }
}

function metadataPathFor(executable) { return path.join(path.dirname(executable), METADATA_FILENAME); }

function readBoundedRegularFile(filePath, maximumBytes) {
  const noFollow = fs.constants.O_NOFOLLOW;
  const descriptor = fs.openSync(filePath, fs.constants.O_RDONLY | (noFollow || 0));
  try {
    const stats = fs.fstatSync(descriptor);
    if (!stats.isFile() || stats.size <= 0 || stats.size > maximumBytes) return null;
    if (!noFollow) {
      const pathStats = fs.lstatSync(filePath);
      if (pathStats.isSymbolicLink()
        || pathStats.dev !== stats.dev
        || pathStats.ino !== stats.ino
        || pathStats.birthtimeMs !== stats.birthtimeMs) {

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