{"record":{"id":"abe854c914918f52","repo":"zed-industries/zed","slug":"failed-to-change-ownership-for-zed-remote-server-v","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"failed to change ownership for zed_remote_server via chown: {}","messagePattern":"failed to change ownership for zed_remote_server via chown: (.+?)","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"crates/remote/src/transport/docker.rs","lineNumber":477,"sourceCode":"\n        let mut chown_command = util::command::new_command(&docker_cli);\n        chown_command.kill_on_drop(true);\n        chown_command.arg(\"exec\");\n        chown_command.arg(connection_options.container_id);\n        chown_command.arg(\"chown\");\n        chown_command.arg(format!(\n            \"{}:{}\",\n            connection_options.remote_user, connection_options.remote_user,\n        ));\n        chown_command.arg(&dst_path);\n\n        let output = chown_command.output().await?;\n\n        if output.status.success() {\n            return Ok(());\n        }\n\n        let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);\n        log::debug!(\"failed to change ownership for via chown: {stderr}\",);\n        anyhow::bail!(\n            \"failed to change ownership for zed_remote_server via chown: {}\",\n            stderr,\n        );\n    }\n\n    async fn upload_file(\n        &self,\n        src_path: &Path,\n        dest_path: &RelPath,\n        remote_dir_for_server: &str,\n    ) -> Result<()> {\n        log::debug!(\"uploading file {:?} to {:?}\", src_path, dest_path);\n\n        let src_path_display = src_path.display().to_string();\n        let dest_path_str = dest_path.display(self.path_style());\n        let full_server_path = format!(\"{}/{}\", remote_dir_for_server, dest_path_str);","sourceCodeStart":459,"sourceCodeEnd":495,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/5a9b9558db01a6b906cec2fb70a797affdc58cdd/crates/remote/src/transport/docker.rs#L459-L495","documentation":"After docker cp succeeds, Zed runs `docker exec <container> chown <remote_user>:<remote_user> <dst_path>` so the uploaded remote server is owned by the connecting user. This error means that chown exited non-zero and its stderr is included verbatim.","triggerScenarios":"chown fails inside the container: remote_user has no entry in the container's /etc/passwd, docker exec runs as a user lacking CAP_CHOWN, the destination path is on a read-only filesystem, or user namespace remapping shifts the uid/gid.","commonSituations":"Connecting with a username that was never added to the image; minimal images (alpine without shadow, distroless) with no user provisioning; rootless docker or userns-remap installs where ids map differently; images mounted read-only.","solutions":["Verify the user exists: `docker exec <id> id <remote_user>`; if missing, add it (alpine: `adduser -D <user>`) or connect as a user present in the image","Run the failing command manually to see the exact stderr: `docker exec <id> chown <user>:<user> <dst_path>`","Connect as root, or use an image where the connecting user can chown its own files","For rootless/userns docker, confirm the uid mapping covers the remote user's uid"],"exampleFix":"# before\nFROM alpine\nCOPY app /app\n\n# after\nFROM alpine\nRUN adduser -D devuser\nCOPY --chown=devuser:devuser app /app\nUSER devuser","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"async fn user_exists_in_container(conn: &DockerExecConnection, user: &str) -> bool {\n    conn.run_docker_exec(\"id\", None, &Default::default(), &[user])\n        .await\n        .is_ok()\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"if let Err(e) = result {\n    if e.to_string().contains(\"chown\") {\n        // surface stderr and suggest adding remote_user to the image or connecting as root\n    }\n    return Err(e);\n}","preventionTips":["Create the connecting user in the image (adduser/useradd) with ownership of the server dir","Use COPY --chown in Dockerfiles for preinstalled binaries","Avoid rootless/userns-remap mismatch by verifying `docker exec <id> id <user>` before connecting"],"tags":["docker","permissions","chown","container"],"backgroundTag":"container-permission-denied","analyzedSha":"5a9b9558db01a6b906cec2fb70a797affdc58cdd","analyzedAt":"2026-08-20T19:29:52.058Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-08-20T19:29:52.058Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-14T00:17:10.932Z"}