{"record":{"id":"79d36225687234c8","repo":"kubernetes/kops","slug":"error-removing-file-s-w","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"error removing file %s: %w","messagePattern":"error removing file (.+?): %w","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"util/pkg/vfs/fs.go","lineNumber":207,"sourceCode":"\nfunc (p *FSPath) String() string {\n\treturn p.Path()\n}\n\nfunc (p *FSPath) Remove(ctx context.Context) error {\n\treturn os.Remove(p.location)\n}\n\nfunc (p *FSPath) RemoveAll(ctx context.Context) error {\n\ttree, err := p.ReadTree(ctx)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn err\n\t}\n\n\tfor _, filePath := range tree {\n\t\terr := filePath.Remove(ctx)\n\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"error removing file %s: %w\", filePath, err)\n\t\t}\n\t}\n\n\treturn nil\n}\n\nfunc (p *FSPath) RemoveAllVersions(ctx context.Context) error {\n\treturn p.Remove(ctx)\n}\n\nfunc (p *FSPath) PreferredHash() (*hashing.Hash, error) {\n\treturn p.Hash(hashing.HashAlgorithmSHA256)\n}\n\nfunc (p *FSPath) Hash(a hashing.HashAlgorithm) (*hashing.Hash, error) {\n\tklog.V(2).Infof(\"hashing file %q\", p.location)\n\n\treturn a.HashFile(p.location)","sourceCodeStart":189,"sourceCodeEnd":225,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kops/blob/4c8573c808a73d578c5eadc86d410646ea0b0d73/util/pkg/vfs/fs.go#L189-L225","documentation":"FSPath.RemoveAll deletes every file in the local-filesystem tree by first listing the tree with ReadTree and then calling Remove (os.Remove) on each path. This error wraps the underlying os.Remove failure for a specific file, so the developer sees both which file could not be deleted and the root OS-level reason (permissions, missing parent dir, etc.). It aborts the loop on the first failure, leaving earlier files deleted and remaining files untouched.","triggerScenarios":"Calling vfscontext-based FSPath.RemoveAll(ctx) (or higher-level cluster/state deletion helpers that use it) when an entry in the tree cannot be removed: the file was deleted concurrently, a parent directory was removed mid-iteration, the process lacks write permission on the parent directory, or the path is a non-empty directory that os.Remove refuses to delete.","commonSituations":"Running kops against a local/FS-backed state store where the state directory permissions changed (e.g. created by root via a container, later used by a non-root user); two kops processes racing to delete the same state; a state dir mounted read-only or on a dead NFS mount; empty-directory entries in the tree that os.Remove cannot delete because they still contain children.","solutions":["Inspect the wrapped %w error (os errno) to identify the cause: EACCES/EPERM means fix permissions on the state directory (chmod/chown or run as the owning user); ENOENT means the file is already gone and can be treated as done or ignored.","Check for concurrent processes (other kops runs, background jobs) holding or deleting files in the same state directory and serialize the deletion.","If the underlying issue is a directory that is not empty due to partial deletes, re-run RemoveAll — the tree listing is re-read each attempt, so a second run usually completes.","Verify the filesystem is writable and not mounted read-only / in a degraded state (dmesg, mount output) before retrying."],"exampleFix":"// before\ntree, _ := p.ReadTree(ctx)\nfor _, filePath := range tree {\n    _ = filePath.Remove(ctx) // silent partial failures\n}\n// after\nif err := p.RemoveAll(ctx); err != nil {\n    var pe *fs.PathError\n    if errors.As(err, &pe) && errors.Is(pe.Err, syscall.ENOENT) {\n        return nil // already deleted concurrently\n    }\n    return err // permission or I/O problem needs real fixing\n}","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"// Go has no pre-check that guarantees a future delete succeeds, but you can\n// pre-verify writability of the tree root before deleting:\nfunc canDelete(dir string) error {\n    info, err := os.Stat(dir)\n    if err != nil { return err }\n    if !info.IsDir() { return fmt.Errorf(\"%s is not a directory\", dir) }\n    f, err := os.OpenFile(dir, os.O_RDONLY, 0)\n    if err != nil { return err }\n    return f.Close()\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"if err := path.RemoveAll(ctx); err != nil {\n    var pe *fs.PathError\n    if errors.As(err, &pe) {\n        switch {\n        case errors.Is(pe.Err, syscall.ENOENT):\n            return nil // already gone; treat as success\n        case errors.Is(pe.Err, syscall.EACCES), errors.Is(pe.Err, syscall.EPERM):\n            return fmt.Errorf(\"permission denied deleting %s: run as the owner of the state dir\", pe.Path)\n        }\n    }\n    return err\n}","preventionTips":["Run kops / the deleting process as a user with write permission on the state directory (watch for root-created files in containers).","Avoid two processes deleting the same state store concurrently.","Treat ENOENT from RemoveAll as idempotent success in your own wrapper.","Verify the state filesystem is mounted read-write and healthy before destructive operations."],"tags":["filesystem","golang","kops","delete"],"backgroundTag":"file-delete-permission-denied","analyzedSha":"4c8573c808a73d578c5eadc86d410646ea0b0d73","analyzedAt":"2026-09-05T04:13:19.212Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-05T04:13:19.212Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-12T07:17:12.445Z"}