astrid-runtime/astrid · error

private directory is not owned by the current user: {}

Error message

private directory is not owned by the current user: {}

What it means

validate_private_directory_unix requires the private directory to be owned by the current user's uid. Ownership by another user means another account (or root) controls the directory contents, breaking the per-user privacy contract, so it fails with io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied.

Source

Thrown at crates/astrid-core/src/platform_fs.rs:497

            },
            Err(error) => return Err(nix_io_error(error)),
        };
        directory = std::fs::File::from(next);
    }
    fchmod(&directory, Mode::from_bits_truncate(0o700)).map_err(nix_io_error)?;
    #[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
    remove_extended_acl_macos(path)?;
    validate_private_directory_unix(path)
}

#[cfg(unix)]
fn validate_private_directory_unix(path: &Path) -> io::Result<()> {
    use std::os::unix::fs::{MetadataExt as _, PermissionsExt as _};

    let directory = open_directory_no_follow_unix(path)?;
    let metadata = directory.metadata()?;
    if metadata.uid() != nix::unistd::getuid().as_raw() {
        return Err(io::Error::new(
            io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied,
            format!(
                "private directory is not owned by the current user: {}",
                path.display()
            ),
        ));
    }
    if metadata.permissions().mode() & 0o777 != 0o700 {
        return Err(io::Error::new(
            io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied,
            format!("private directory is not owner-only: {}", path.display()),
        ));
    }
    validate_no_extended_acl(path)?;
    Ok(())
}

#[cfg(unix)]

View on GitHub (pinned to affd8760f4)

Solutions

1. Reclaim ownership: chown -R $(id -u) ~/.astrid (run as the owner or with sudo).
2. Avoid creating the directory with sudo; let the target user's process create it.
3. If a foreign-owned directory is unexpected, remove it and let ensure_private_directory recreate it securely.

Example fix

// before (shell)
sudo mkdir ~/.astrid
// after (shell)
rm -rf ~/.astrid && mkdir ~/.astrid && chmod 700 ~/.astrid   // owned by current user

#[cfg(unix)]
fn owned_by_me(p: &std::path::Path) -> std::io::Result<bool> {
    use std::os::unix::fs::MetadataExt;
    Ok(std::fs::metadata(p)?.uid() == nix::unistd::getuid().as_raw())
}

#[cfg(unix)]
fn current_user_owns(p: &std::path::Path) -> bool {
    use std::os::unix::fs::MetadataExt;
    std::fs::symlink_metadata(p)
        .map(|m| m.uid() == nix::unistd::getuid().as_raw())
        .unwrap_or(false)
}

match validate_private_directory(&dir) {
    Err(e) if e.kind() == io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied => {
        eprintln!("run 'chown -R $(id -u) {}' or recreate the directory", dir.display());
        return Err(e);
    }
    other => other?,
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling validate_private_directory or ensure_private_directory_unix on a directory whose stat uid differs from getuid() — e.g. a directory created by sudo, restored from another user's backup, or on a shared/multi-user mount.

Common situations: Running the app under a different account after creating state with sudo; rsync/tar restores that preserved foreign ownership; shared /home or NFS directories with mixed uids.

Understand the failure class

Background: Permission denied / not authorized / 403 Forbidden: access-control rejections when the caller lacks the required role, grant, or ownership — this error's family across 18 libraries.

Related errors

• private directory is not owner-only: {}
• mountpoint ancestor is writable without sticky protection: {
• mountpoint must be owned by the current OS user: {}
• inspect legacy revocation file: {error}
• read materialized capsule metadata: {error:#}

AI-assisted analysis of astrid-runtime/astrid@affd8760f4 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/90668ab3eeb95aa1. Report an issue: GitHub.