astrid-runtime/astrid · error

empty archive path

Error message

empty archive path

What it means

`validate_archive_path` rejects an empty string before any path checks, since an empty archive path cannot name a capsule. This is a guard so downstream pack logic always receives a usable destination path.

Source

Thrown at crates/astrid-cli/src/commands/distro/shuttle.rs:254

            .with_context(|| format!("failed to unpack {}", out_path.display()))?;
    }
    Ok(())
}

/// The archive-relative path of a capsule member: `capsules/<name>.capsule`.
pub(crate) fn capsule_member_path(name: &str) -> String {
    format!("{CAPSULES_DIR}/{name}.capsule")
}

/// The on-disk path of a capsule inside an unpacked mirror.
pub(crate) fn capsule_mirror_path(mirror: &Path, name: &str) -> PathBuf {
    mirror.join(CAPSULES_DIR).join(format!("{name}.capsule"))
}

/// Reject archive paths that are absolute, contain `..`, or are empty.
fn validate_archive_path(path: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
    if path.is_empty() {
        bail!("empty archive path");
    }
    let p = Path::new(path);
    if p.is_absolute() || p.components().any(|c| matches!(c, Component::ParentDir)) {
        bail!("unsafe archive path '{path}'");
    }
    Ok(())
}

#[cfg(test)]
mod tests {
    use super::*;

    fn sample_entries() -> Vec<ShuttleEntry> {
        vec![
            ShuttleEntry {
                path: SIG_NAME.to_string(),
                content: ShuttleContent::Bytes(b"deadbeef".to_vec()),
            },

View on GitHub (pinned to affd8760f4)

Solutions

1. Pass a non-empty output path, e.g. `--out distro/my.capsule`.
2. Fix the script/config so the path variable is populated (quote and check it: `: "${OUT:?OUT is empty}"`).
3. Rely on the default destination (mirrors `<name>.capsule`) by omitting the path argument instead of passing an empty one.

Example fix

// before
$ astrid distro pack --out "$CAPSULE"   # CAPSULE empty
// after
$ : "${CAPSULE:?set CAPSULE}" && astrid distro pack --out "$CAPSULE"

if out_path.trim().is_empty() {
    eprintln!("--out path is required");
    std::process::exit(2);
}

match pack(&staging, out) {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("empty archive path") => {
        eprintln!("supply a non-empty --out path, e.g. --out my.capsule");
    }
    other => other?,
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `pack` (which calls `validate_archive_path`) with an empty output/`--out` path argument, e.g. `astrid distro pack --out ""`.

Common situations: A shell variable holding the output path is unset/empty (e.g. `--out "$OUT"` with `OUT=`); a script generating the path from an empty config field.

Understand the failure class

Background: "must not be empty", "cannot be empty" — required-field validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• unsafe archive path '{path}'
• capsule '{}': tag must not be empty
• Distro.toml has no parent directory
• capsule source is neither a directory nor a regular file: {}
• {name} not found. Ensure it is installed alongside the astri

AI-assisted analysis of astrid-runtime/astrid@affd8760f4 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c16116d1546363f3. Report an issue: GitHub.