{"record":{"id":"769399c6ae276be9","repo":"ruby/ruby","slug":"there-was-an-error-while-trying-to-use-the-path","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"There was an error while trying to use the path `#{somepath}`.\nThe error message was: #{e.message}.","messagePattern":"There was an error while trying to use the path `#(.+?)`\\.\nThe error message was: #(.+?)\\.","errorType":"exception","errorClass":"Bundler::PathError","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"lib/bundler/source/path.rb","lineNumber":132,"sourceCode":"      def root\n        Bundler.root\n      end\n\n      def expanded_original_path\n        @expanded_original_path ||= expand(original_path)\n      end\n\n      private\n\n      def expanded_path\n        @expanded_path ||= expand(path)\n      end\n\n      def expand(somepath)\n        somepath.expand_path(root_path)\n      rescue ArgumentError => e\n        Bundler.ui.debug(e)\n        raise PathError, \"There was an error while trying to use the path \" \\\n          \"`#{somepath}`.\\nThe error message was: #{e.message}.\"\n      end\n\n      def lockfile_path\n        return relative_path(original_path) if original_path.absolute?\n        expand(original_path).relative_path_from(root)\n      end\n\n      def app_cache_path(custom_path = nil)\n        @app_cache_path ||= Bundler.app_cache(custom_path).join(app_cache_dirname)\n      end\n\n      def has_app_cache?\n        SharedHelpers.in_bundle? && app_cache_path.exist?\n      end\n\n      def load_gemspec(file)\n        return unless spec = Bundler.load_gemspec(file)","sourceCodeStart":114,"sourceCodeEnd":150,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/ruby/ruby/blob/0e5b888e1c355f3f728f2659f085820937dada48/lib/bundler/source/path.rb#L114-L150","documentation":"Bundler raises this PathError while expanding the filesystem path of a `:path` source (e.g. `gem \"mygem\", path: \"...\"` in a Gemfile). The underlying `Pathname#expand_path(root_path)` call raised ArgumentError, which almost always means the path string itself is unusable: it contains a NUL byte, or it starts with `~someuser` for a user that does not exist on the machine. The original Ruby message is embedded in the error text and the exception is logged at debug level via Bundler.ui.debug.","triggerScenarios":"A Gemfile `:path` option (or programmatic use of Bundler::Source::Path) whose string contains a \"\\0\" NUL byte or a `~nonexistentuser/...` prefix; paths built from environment variables that are empty, unset, or carry control characters; Gemfiles copied between machines whose home-directory prefixes differ.","commonSituations":"Gemfiles hand-edited or generated by scripts that inject bad characters; `path: \"~#{ENV['USER']}/gems/foo\"` when USER is empty or the account does not exist on the CI machine; strings that passed through binary processing and kept an embedded NUL; developer machines vs deploy hosts with different usernames.","solutions":["Fix the path string in the Gemfile so it is a plain relative or absolute path with no NUL bytes, control characters, or ~user references","Replace `~user/...` with a concrete absolute path, or expand it yourself: `File.expand_path(\"~/gems/foo\")` at Gemfile load time so failures surface immediately","Print and inspect the exact interpolated value of any ENV variable used to build the path before running bundle install","If the value comes from tooling, sanitize it before it reaches the Gemfile: reject strings containing \"\\0\" and validate against a strict pattern"],"exampleFix":"# before\ngem \"mygem\", path: \"~#{ENV['DEPLOY_USER']}/gems/mygem\"\n\n# after\ngem \"mygem\", path: File.expand_path(\"vendor/mygem\", __dir__)","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"# Validate a :path string before bundler expands it\ndef valid_bundler_path?(p, base = Dir.pwd)\n  s = p.to_s\n  return false if s.empty? || s.include?(\"\\0\")\n  begin\n    File.expand_path(s, base)\n    true\n  rescue ArgumentError # bad ~user reference\n    false\n  end\nend\n\nabort \"invalid path #{path.inspect}\" unless valid_bundler_path?(path)","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"begin\n  Bundler::Source::Path.new(\"path\" => some_path)\nrescue Bundler::PathError => e\n  abort \"Bad :path value: #{e.message}\" # message carries the original ArgumentError\nend","preventionTips":["Never interpolate raw ENV values into Gemfile paths without validating them first","Expand paths yourself with File.expand_path and __dir__ so bad values fail at Gemfile load time","Avoid ~user forms in Gemfiles; prefer paths relative to the Gemfile or absolute paths"],"tags":["bundler","gemfile","path","filesystem","pathname"],"backgroundTag":"invalid-path","analyzedSha":"0e5b888e1c355f3f728f2659f085820937dada48","analyzedAt":"2026-08-21T14:25:43.473Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-21T18:17:14.833Z"}