cline/cline · error · DiffError

Cannot create ${filePath} with no content

Error message

Cannot create ${filePath} with no content

What it means

Error "Cannot create ${filePath} with no content" thrown in cline/cline.

Source

Thrown at sdk/packages/core/src/extensions/tools/executors/apply-patch.ts:293

async function applyChanges(
	changes: Record<string, PatchFileChange>,
	cwd: string,
	encoding: BufferEncoding,
	restrictToCwd: boolean,
): Promise<string[]> {
	const touched: string[] = [];

	for (const [filePath, change] of Object.entries(changes)) {
		const sourceAbsPath = resolveFilePath(cwd, filePath, restrictToCwd);
		switch (change.type) {
			case PatchActionType.DELETE:
				await fs.rm(sourceAbsPath, { force: true });
				touched.push(`${filePath}: [deleted]`);
				break;
			case PatchActionType.ADD:
				if (change.newContent === undefined) {
					throw new DiffError(`Cannot create ${filePath} with no content`);
				}
				await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(sourceAbsPath), { recursive: true });
				await fs.writeFile(sourceAbsPath, change.newContent, { encoding });
				touched.push(filePath);
				break;
			case PatchActionType.UPDATE: {
				if (change.newContent === undefined) {
					throw new DiffError(
						`UPDATE change for ${filePath} has no new content`,
					);
				}

				if (change.movePath) {
					const moveAbsPath = resolveFilePath(
						cwd,
						change.movePath,
						restrictToCwd,
					);

View on GitHub (pinned to 491b30b806)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at sdk/packages/core/src/extensions/tools/executors/apply-patch.ts:293 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of cline/cline@491b30b806 (2026-08-25). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d9591eb9f950dade. Report an issue: GitHub.