failed to create {} via template {}: No such file or directo

Error message

failed to create {} via template {}: No such file or directory

What it means

Creation failure from the `mktemp` builtin (crates/pi-builtins/src/mktemp.rs:75). When `tempfile_in`/`tempdir_in` returns `ErrorKind::NotFound`, the builtin converts it into this explicit message naming the resolved target path and the quoted template. It means the parent directory of the constructed temporary path does not exist.

Source

Thrown at crates/pi-builtins/src/mktemp.rs:75

	#[error("with --suffix, template {} must end in X", .0.quote())]
	MustEndInX(String),

	#[error("too few X's in template {}", .0.quote())]
	TooFewXs(String),

	#[error("invalid template, {}, contains directory separator", .0.quote())]
	PrefixContainsDirSeparator(String),

	#[error("invalid suffix {}, contains directory separator", .0.quote())]
	SuffixContainsDirSeparator(String),

	#[error("invalid template, {}; with --tmpdir, it may not be absolute", .0.quote())]
	InvalidTemplate(OsString),

	#[error("too many templates")]
	TooManyTemplates,

	#[error("failed to create {} via template {}: No such file or directory", .0, .1.quote())]
	NotFound(String, PathBuf),

	#[error(transparent)]
	Io(#[from] io::Error),
}

/// Options parsed from the command line.
///
/// This provides a layer of indirection between the application logic and
/// `clap`, allowing each to vary independently.
#[derive(Clone)]
struct Options {
	/// Whether to create a temporary directory instead of a file.
	directory: bool,
	/// Whether to just print the name of a file that would have been created.
	dry_run: bool,
	/// Whether to suppress file creation error messages.
	quiet: bool,

View on GitHub (pinned to 9690622007)

Solutions

Create the target directory before invoking mktemp: `mkdir -p "$TMPDIR"` or `mkdir -p missing-dir`.
Check the value of `TMPDIR`/`TMP` for typos or stale paths and correct or unset it.
Simplify the template to a single filename component and pass the directory via `-p`/`--tmpdir` so the missing piece is obvious.
Use `-q` if the script only needs the exit code without the diagnostic (the exit code stays 1).

Example fix

# before
mktemp -p "$WORK/cache" tmp.XXXXXX   # fails if cache/ missing
# after
mkdir -p "$WORK/cache"
mktemp -p "$WORK/cache" tmp.XXXXXX

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

mkdir -p "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"
[ -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}" ] || { echo "tmpdir missing" >&2; exit 1; }

Try / catch

if ! out=$(mktemp -p "$dir" foo.XXXX); then echo "mktemp: cannot create in $dir" >&2; exit 1; fi

Prevention

mkdir -p the tmpdir (and any directory components embedded in the template) before calling mktemp.
Validate TMPDIR/TMP points at an existing directory at script start.
Prefer a single filename-component template plus -p DIR over slashes inside the template.
Check mktemp's exit status rather than blindly using its output path.

When it happens

Trigger: `mktemp -p missing-dir foo.XXXX` (or `--tmpdir`) where DIR does not exist; a template with a directory component like `sub/foo.XXXX` when `sub/` is absent; `TMPDIR` pointing to a non-existent directory while using `--tmpdir` (no argument), `-t`, or no template.

Common situations: Scripts using `$TMPDIR` set to a stale or never-created directory; a `--tmpdir` value with a typo or created later by another step of the script; templates like `cache/out.XXXX` where the `cache` directory was cleaned up beforehand.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of can1357/oh-my-pi@9690622007 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1b8f6bb8493f6849. Report an issue: GitHub.