What causes "unsafe workspace selection: {error}" in astrid-runtime/astrid?

Use the real, non-symlinked path as the workspace root (resolve the canonical path and cd there).

unsafe workspace selection: {error}

Error message

unsafe workspace selection: {error}

What it means

During kernel startup, `workspace_layout.resolve(&workspace_root)` rejected the workspace selection as unsafe (e.g. root/symlink/ownership problems per the layout rules). The kernel re-wraps the rejection with its original ErrorKind and the message prefix `unsafe workspace selection:` because it will only operate inside a safely-resolved project root.

Source

Thrown at crates/astrid-kernel/src/lib.rs:1065

            runtime_key,
            session_token,
            token_path,
            cli_socket_listener,
            singleton_lock,
            #[cfg(not(all(target_arch = "wasm32", target_os = "unknown")))]
            layout_origin,
        } = resources;
        #[cfg(not(unix))]
        let _ = token_path;

        home.clear_runtime_principal_scratch().map_err(|error| {
            std::io::Error::other(format!(
                "Failed to clear stale principal runtime scratch: {error}"
            ))
        })?;

        let workspace_selection = workspace_layout.resolve(&workspace_root).map_err(|error| {
            std::io::Error::new(error.kind(), format!("unsafe workspace selection: {error}"))
        })?;
        let workspace_root = workspace_selection.project_root().to_path_buf();

        let event_bus = Arc::new(EventBus::new());
        let capsules = Arc::new(RwLock::new(CapsuleRegistry::new()));

        // The canonical runtime has no native principal-home authority. Home
        // and workspace mounts are bound from the durable storage provider;
        // lifecycle compatibility callers receive an explicit `None` and
        // must not recreate a host `principal_home` tree.
        let home_root = None;

        // Bootstrap the capability store (persistent) over the injected KV.
        // Key rotation invalidates persisted tokens (fail-secure by design).
        let capabilities = Arc::new(
            CapabilityStore::with_kv_store(Arc::clone(&kv))
                .await
                .map_err(|e| {

View on GitHub (pinned to affd8760f4)

Solutions

Use the real, non-symlinked path as the workspace root (resolve the canonical path and cd there).
Fix ownership/permissions so the workspace root belongs to the current user.
Move the workspace to a location the layout rules permit.
Read the inner `{error}` in the message — it names the specific layout rule that was violated.

Example fix

// before
let root = PathBuf::from("~/projects/link-to-app"); // symlink
// after
let root = std::fs::canonicalize("~/projects/link-to-app")?; // real path
let workspace = workspace_layout.resolve(&root)?;

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

let root = std::fs::canonicalize(&workspace_root)?;
if !root.is_dir() {
    return Err("workspace root must be a real directory");
}
let selection = workspace_layout.resolve(&root)?;

Type guard

fn safe_workspace_root(p: &std::path::Path) -> std::io::Result<bool> {
    let real = std::fs::canonicalize(p)?;
    Ok(real.is_dir() && real == p)
}

Try / catch

match workspace_layout.resolve(&workspace_root) {
    Err(e) => return Err(std::io::Error::new(e.kind(), format!("unsafe workspace selection: {e}; use a real, non-symlinked, user-owned directory"))),
    Ok(sel) => sel,
};

Prevention

Pass canonical (non-symlinked) workspace paths to the kernel.
Ensure the workspace root is owned by the current user with sane permissions.
Avoid running the tool from symlinked checkout or home paths in CI.

When it happens

Trigger: Starting the kernel with a workspace root that `workspace_layout.resolve` deems unsafe — symlinked or redirected workspace roots, disallowed locations, or ownership/permission mismatches on the path.

Common situations: Running the tool inside a symlinked project directory (or a symlinked HOME chain); a workspace mounted from another user's directory; CI checkouts with unusual symlink structures; containers mapping volumes with mismatched uids.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Must be a positive integer", "Invalid value", "Unsupported": the invalid-argument-value error family, when a library rejects the value you pass — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of astrid-runtime/astrid@affd8760f4 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/142a51edddf82a46. Report an issue: GitHub.