atuinsh/atuin · error

trailing bytes in encoded history. malformed

Error message

trailing bytes in encoded history. malformed

What it means

Error "trailing bytes in encoded history. malformed" thrown in atuinsh/atuin.

Source

Thrown at crates/atuin-client/src/history.rs:334

        let intent = if match version {
            Version::Zero => false,
            Version::One => nfields > min_fields,
            Version::Two => true,
        } {
            decode::read_optional(&mut bytes, decode::read_string)?
        } else {
            None
        };

        let shell = if version >= Version::Two {
            decode::read_optional(&mut bytes, decode::read_string)?
        } else {
            None
        };

        if version < Version::Two && !bytes.remaining_slice().is_empty() {
            bail!("trailing bytes in encoded history. malformed");
        }

        Ok(History {
            id: id.into(),
            timestamp: OffsetDateTime::from_unix_nanos_u64(timestamp),
            duration,
            exit,
            command,
            cwd,
            session,
            author: author.unwrap_or_else(|| Self::author_from_hostname(&hostname)),
            hostname,
            intent,
            deleted_at: deleted_at.map(OffsetDateTime::from_unix_nanos_u64),
            shell,
        })
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 15fe1318f1)

Solutions

1. The encoded history entry is corrupt; delete or rebuild the affected record and re-sync.

When it happens

Trigger: Fires when extra undecoded bytes remain after parsing an encoded history record, indicating corruption.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

AI-assisted analysis of atuinsh/atuin@15fe1318f1 (2026-08-19). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a4df718e3eec4849. Report an issue: GitHub.