charmbracelet/gum · error

file not found: %w

Error message

file not found: %w

What it means

Run converts the starting --path to an absolute path with filepath.Abs; if that fails (rare OS-level errors like excessively long or malformed paths), it is wrapped as 'file not found'. Note it wraps the abs-resolution error rather than an actual filesystem existence check.

Source

Thrown at file/command.go:28

	"charm.land/bubbles/v2/help"
	tea "charm.land/bubbletea/v2"
	"charm.land/gum/v2/internal/timeout"
	"charm.land/gum/v2/style"
)

// Run is the interface to picking a file.
func (o Options) Run() error {
	if !o.File && !o.Directory {
		return errors.New("at least one between --file and --directory must be set")
	}

	if o.Path == "" {
		o.Path = "."
	}

	path, err := filepath.Abs(o.Path)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("file not found: %w", err)
	}

	fp := filepicker.New()
	fp.CurrentDirectory = path
	fp.Path = path
	fp.SetHeight(o.Height)
	fp.AutoHeight = o.Height == 0
	fp.Cursor = o.Cursor
	fp.DirAllowed = o.Directory
	fp.FileAllowed = o.File
	fp.ShowPermissions = o.Permissions
	fp.ShowSize = o.Size
	fp.ShowHidden = o.All
	fp.Styles = filepicker.DefaultStyles()
	fp.Styles.Cursor = o.CursorStyle.ToLipgloss()
	fp.Styles.Symlink = o.SymlinkStyle.ToLipgloss()
	fp.Styles.Directory = o.DirectoryStyle.ToLipgloss()
	fp.Styles.File = o.FileStyle.ToLipgloss()

View on GitHub (pinned to 4d089f9550)

Solutions

1. Verify the starting directory exists and your shell's cwd is valid (cd to a real directory)
2. Pass a simpler/valid --path value
3. Check the wrapped cause (%w) for the underlying OS error

Example fix

// before
(cd /deleted/dir && gum file --file)  # file not found: ...
// after
cd /valid/dir && gum file --file

[ -d "$start_dir" ] && cd "$start_dir" && gum file --file || echo 'invalid starting path'

null

null

When it happens

Trigger: filepath.Abs(o.Path) returns an error inside Options.Run() — typically from os.Getwd failing or a pathological path value.

Common situations: Running from a deleted working directory (cwd removed); extremely long path values; passing NUL or otherwise invalid bytes in the path.

Related errors

• at least one between --file and --directory must be set
• no file selected
• no options provided, see `gum choose --help`
• nothing selected
• invalid option format: %q

AI-assisted analysis of charmbracelet/gum@4d089f9550 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c517594bf517e10c. Report an issue: GitHub.