doctrine/orm · error · InvalidArgumentException

The directory "%s" does not exist and could not be created.

Error message

The directory "%s" does not exist and could not be created.

What it means

InvalidArgumentException from FileLockRegion::__construct() (src/Cache/Region/FileLockRegion.php:51). The READ_WRITE cache region needs a directory for its lock files; the constructor tries to create it recursively (mkdir 0775), and that failed — the directory does not exist afterwards, so the region cannot operate.

Source

Thrown at src/Cache/Region/FileLockRegion.php:51

/**
 * Very naive concurrent region, based on file locks.
 */
class FileLockRegion implements ConcurrentRegion
{
    final public const LOCK_EXTENSION = 'lock';

    /**
     * @param numeric-string|int $lockLifetime
     *
     * @throws InvalidArgumentException
     */
    public function __construct(
        private readonly Region $region,
        private readonly string $directory,
        private readonly string|int $lockLifetime,
    ) {
        if (! is_dir($directory) && ! @mkdir($directory, 0775, true)) {
            throw new InvalidArgumentException(sprintf('The directory "%s" does not exist and could not be created.', $directory));
        }

        if (! is_writable($directory)) {
            throw new InvalidArgumentException(sprintf('The directory "%s" is not writable.', $directory));
        }
    }

    private function isLocked(CacheKey $key, Lock|null $lock = null): bool
    {
        $filename = $this->getLockFileName($key);

        if (! is_file($filename)) {
            return false;
        }

        $time    = $this->getLockTime($filename);
        $content = $this->getLockContent($filename);

View on GitHub (pinned to d9b9ff7301)

Solutions

Pre-create the directory in deployment and grant write access to the PHP user: install -d -o www-data /var/cache/app/doctrine-lock.
Point setFileLockRegionDirectory() at a writable path the process can create (e.g. sys_get_temp_dir() . '/doctrine-slc' or the cache/ directory of the app).
Check the exact path for a typo, a same-named file in the way, open_basedir limits, and disk space/inodes.
On read-only containers, mount a writable emptyDir/volume (or tmpfs) at the configured path.

Example fix

# Dockerfile / entrypoint, before: directory never created, app user cannot mkdir /var/doctrine-lock

# after
RUN mkdir -p /var/cache/doctrine-lock && chown www-data:www-data /var/cache/doctrine-lock
ENV DOCTRINE_SLC_LOCK_DIR=/var/cache/doctrine-lock

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

$dir = $lockRegionDirectory . '/' . $regionName;
if (! is_dir($dir) && ! @mkdir($dir, 0775, true) && ! is_dir($dir)) {
    throw new RuntimeException("Cannot create SLC lock dir {$dir}");
}
if (! is_writable($dir)) {
    throw new RuntimeException("SLC lock dir {$dir} not writable");
}

Prevention

Create the lock directory in deployment (correct owner) instead of relying on runtime mkdir.
Prefer a local writable filesystem (tmp, app cache dir) for lock files — not NFS or read-only layers.
Health-check the directory in a startup probe so failures surface at boot, not first cache access.

When it happens

Trigger: setFileLockRegionDirectory() points at a path whose parent is not writable by the PHP process (mkdir cannot create it), a path segment is actually a file, open_basedir restrictions exclude the path, the filesystem is read-only (containers), or the disk/inode quota is exhausted.

Common situations: Read-only container filesystems or missing volumes in Docker/Kubernetes; directory configured under /var/lib on a hardened server where the web-user lacks permissions; path typo (e.g. /vr/cache); safe_mode/open_basedir shared hosting restrictions.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of doctrine/orm@d9b9ff7301 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1b6f107b1f1c2d56. Report an issue: GitHub.