clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB · error

Failed to read_dir from template directory {}: {err:#?}

Error message

Failed to read_dir from template directory {}: {err:#?}

What it means

Build-time panic in crates/cli/build.rs: `std::fs::read_dir` on the templates directory failed while recursively listing files to embed (the Nix path `list_all_files` -> `ls_recursively`). read_dir errors mean the directory could not be opened — it does not exist at the resolved absolute path, it is not a directory, or the process lacks permission. The resolved path is `{repo_root}/templates/{template}`, so a bad template entry in templates-list.json points at nothing.

Source

Thrown at crates/cli/build.rs:343

        )
    });

    let template_root_absolute = get_full_path_within_manifest_dir(path, &manifest_dir);

    let repo_root = get_repo_root();

    let mut files = Vec::new();
    ls_recursively(&template_root_absolute, &repo_root, &mut files);

    (files, make_repo_root_relative(&template_root_absolute, &repo_root))
}

/// Get all the paths of files within `root_dir`,
/// transform them into paths relative to `repo_root`,
/// and insert them into `out`.
fn ls_recursively(root_dir: &Path, repo_root: &Path, out: &mut Vec<PathBuf>) {
    for dir_ent in std::fs::read_dir(root_dir).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
        panic!(
            "Failed to read_dir from template directory {}: {err:#?}",
            root_dir.display()
        )
    }) {
        let dir_ent = dir_ent.unwrap_or_else(|err| {
            panic!(
                "Got error during read_dir from template directory {}: {err:#?}",
                root_dir.display(),
            )
        });
        let file_path = dir_ent.path();
        let file_type = dir_ent.file_type().unwrap_or_else(|err| {
            panic!(
                "Failed to get file_type for template file {}: {err:#?}",
                file_path.display(),
            )
        });
        if file_type.is_dir() {

View on GitHub (pinned to 6dee26c6ef)

Solutions

1. Check the exact path printed in the panic: it should exist as a directory — `ls <repo_root>/templates/<template>`.
2. Fix the entry in templates/templates-list.json to match the on-disk directory name.
3. Ensure templates/ is present in the build context (fix .dockerignore, sparse-checkout patterns, submodule init).
4. Verify read/execute permission for the build user on that directory.

# Verify every template directory is readable before building:
for d in $(jq -r '.templates[].directory' templates/templates-list.json); do
  [ -d "templates/$d" ] || echo "missing dir: templates/$d"
  [ -r "templates/$d" ] || echo "unreadable dir: templates/$d"
done

When it happens

Trigger: A templates-list.json entry whose directory field names a folder that does not exist under templates/; the templates tree deleted or not copied into a Docker/CI build context; filesystem permissions denying the build user.

Common situations: Renaming or removing a template folder without updating templates-list.json; minimal CI checkouts that skip submodules or sparse-checkout exclude templates/; building from a source archive missing the templates directory.

Related errors

• Got error during read_dir from template directory {}: {err:#
• Failed to canonicalize path {}: {}
• Could not read skills directory at {}. Ensure skills/ exists
• Template '{}' has no git-tracked files! Check that the direc
• Failed to get file_type for template file {}: {err:#?}

AI-assisted analysis of clockworklabs/SpacetimeDB@6dee26c6ef (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/819a2a1f195a6d6a. Report an issue: GitHub.