clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB · error · anyhow::Error

Cannot create new SpacetimeDB project in non-empty directory

Error message

Cannot create new SpacetimeDB project in non-empty directory: {}

What it means

Full (client + server) init requires an empty target directory: any existing entry — including dotfiles like `.git` or `.DS_Store` — causes init to abort rather than risk overwriting. This is the non-server-only branch of the same `ensure_empty_directory` pre-flight check; server-only mode relaxes it by allowing content outside `spacetimedb/`.

Source

Thrown at crates/cli/src/subcommands/init.rs:797

    if project_path.exists() {
        if !project_path.is_dir() {
            anyhow::bail!(
                "Path {} exists but is not a directory. A new SpacetimeDB project must be initialized in an empty directory.",
                project_path.display()
            );
        }

        if std::fs::read_dir(project_path).unwrap().count() > 0 {
            if is_server_only {
                let server_dir = project_path.join("spacetimedb");
                if server_dir.exists() && std::fs::read_dir(server_dir).unwrap().count() > 0 {
                    anyhow::bail!(
                        "A SpacetimeDB module already exists in the target directory: {}",
                        project_path.display()
                    );
                }
            } else {
                anyhow::bail!(
                    "Cannot create new SpacetimeDB project in non-empty directory: {}",
                    project_path.display()
                );
            }
        }
    } else {
        fs::create_dir_all(project_path).context("Failed to create directory")?;
    }
    Ok(())
}

async fn get_template_config_interactive(
    options: &InitOptions,
    project_name: String,
    project_path: PathBuf,
) -> anyhow::Result<TemplateConfig> {
    let theme = ColorfulTheme::default();

View on GitHub (pinned to 524b4487d9)

Solutions

1. Init into a new, truly empty directory
2. Clean the directory including hidden files, then re-run
3. If you only need the server module added to an existing project, use `--server-only`
4. If you want pre-existing content as a starting point, clone a template repo with `--template owner/repo` instead

Example fix

# before — ./my-app already contains files
spacetime init --non-interactive --project-name my-app --lang rust

# after — either clean it
rm -rf my-app && spacetime init --non-interactive --project-name my-app --lang rust

# after — or only add a module to the existing project
spacetime init --non-interactive --project-name my-app --lang rust --server-only

# Full-init pre-flight: target must be empty, including dotfiles:
TARGET="${PROJECT_PATH:-./my-app}"
if [[ -e "$TARGET" ]]; then
  [[ -d "$TARGET" ]] || { echo "$TARGET is a file" >&2; exit 2; }
  [[ -z $(ls -A "$TARGET") ]] || { echo "$TARGET is not empty" >&2; exit 2; }
fi
spacetime init --non-interactive --project-name my-app --lang rust

When it happens

Trigger: `spacetime init` where the resolved project path already contains anything at all; scaffolding into the current repo root; re-init over a previous (even failed) attempt; directories containing only hidden files.

Common situations: Retrying init after an interrupted run; wanting to add SpacetimeDB to an existing project (use --server-only instead); initialized git repos counted as non-empty.

Related errors

• Path {} exists but is not a directory. A new SpacetimeDB pro
• A SpacetimeDB module already exists in the target directory:
• Fatal Error: path {} exists but is not a directory.
• Fatal Error: path {} does not exist.
• Project initialization did not create spacetimedb directory

AI-assisted analysis of clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB@524b4487d9 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f51ec414ccf3f84b. Report an issue: GitHub.