charmbracelet/glow · error

unable to get absolute path

Error message

unable to get absolute path: %w

What it means

After successfully opening the file, glow labels the source with filepath.Abs(arg), which resolves the path relative to the current working directory. filepath.Abs only fails when os.Getwd() fails - i.e. the process's current directory was deleted, renamed, or became unreadable. This is an extremely rare condition distinct from any problem with the file itself.

Solutions

1. Check that the current directory still exists: pwd
2. Re-run glow from a valid directory (cd to a stable path first)
3. In scripts, avoid deleting the working directory while tools still run from it

func cwdValid() bool {
	wd, err := os.Getwd()
	return err == nil && wd != ""
}

When it happens

Trigger: The directory glow was started in is deleted (rm -rf) while the process runs; the cwd's permissions are revoked; the cwd sits on an unmounted/dead filesystem.

Common situations: Scripts that delete their working directory before invoking tools, containers where the workdir is removed by another process, long-lived shells in cleaned-up temp dirs.

Related errors

• could not write configuration file
• missing markdown source
• specified style does not exist
• unable create directory
• unable to create config file

AI-assisted analysis of charmbracelet/glow@e3970c813d (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0b1fbd79abf91d6c. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at main.go:147

				}
			}
			return nil
		})

		if src != nil {
			return src, nil
		}

		return nil, errors.New("missing markdown source")
	}

	r, err := os.Open(arg)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to open file: %w", err)
	}
	u, err := filepath.Abs(arg)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to get absolute path: %w", err)
	}
	return &source{r, u}, nil
}

// validateStyle checks if the style is a default style, if not, checks that
// the custom style exists.
func validateStyle(style string) error {
	if style != "auto" && styles.DefaultStyles[style] == nil {
		style = utils.ExpandPath(style)
		if _, err := os.Stat(style); errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
			return fmt.Errorf("specified style does not exist: %s", style)
		} else if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to stat file: %w", err)
		}
	}
	return nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e3970c813d)