direnv/direnv · error

cannot allow empty path

Error message

cannot allow empty path

What it means

Raised in RC.Allow when the RC struct's allowPath field is empty. allowPath is computed as AllowDir()/sha256-of-rc-file by RCFromPath/RCFromEnv; an empty value means the RC object was constructed without a resolvable allow path (e.g. RCFromEnv failed to hash the file and returned a degenerate RC, or the RC was hand-built in tests/embedding). This is a defensive invariant guard — Allow refuses to write permission state to an unspecified location. Reached from cmdEditAction after editing.

Source

Thrown at internal/cmd/rc.go:102

	err = times.Unmarshal(marshalledTimes)
	if err != nil {
		return nil
	}

	pathHash, err := pathHash(path)
	if err != nil {
		return nil
	}

	denyPath := filepath.Join(config.DenyDir(), pathHash)

	return &RC{path, allowPath, denyPath, times, config}
}

// Allow grants the RC as allowed to load
func (rc *RC) Allow() (err error) {
	if rc.allowPath == "" {
		return fmt.Errorf("cannot allow empty path")
	}
	if err = os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(rc.allowPath), 0755); err != nil {
		return
	}
	if err = allow(rc.path, rc.allowPath); err != nil {
		return
	}
	if err = rc.times.Update(rc.allowPath); err != nil {
		return
	}
	if _, err = os.Stat(rc.denyPath); err != nil {
		if errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
			return nil
		}
		return err
	}
	return os.Remove(rc.denyPath)
}

View on GitHub (pinned to b00e451f54)

Solutions

1. Construct the RC via RCFromPath/FindRC so allowPath is populated from config.AllowDir()
2. If building RC manually, initialize all fields including the hashed allow path
3. Check that config.DataDir is set so AllowDir() yields a non-empty base
4. Report a bug if this fires during normal `direnv allow`/`direnv edit` usage — it indicates a construction bug

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at internal/cmd/rc.go:102 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of direnv/direnv@b00e451f54 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cca8d81b97a007b0. Report an issue: GitHub.