gitbutlerapp/gitbutler · error · anyhow::Error

Unsupported platform

Error message

Unsupported platform

What it means

open_in_terminal(terminal_id, path) in but-api launches a terminal at a directory. It has explicit branches for macOS, Linux (cfg!(target_os = "linux")), and Windows; every other compile target falls through to this unconditional bail. The error means the binary you are running was built for a platform the terminal-launching code simply does not cover.

Source

Thrown at crates/but-api/src/open/mod.rs:586

                cmd.current_dir(canonical_path)
                    // Keep the window open
                    .arg("-NoExit");
                create_new_console(&mut cmd);
                spawn_and_reap(cmd, "PowerShell", canonical_path)?;
            }
            "cmd" => {
                // Set the working directory directly - OS handles path format
                let mut cmd = Command::new("cmd");
                cmd.current_dir(canonical_path)
                    // Keep the window open
                    .arg("/K");
                create_new_console(&mut cmd);
                spawn_and_reap(cmd, "Command Prompt", canonical_path)?;
            }
            _ => bail!("Unknown terminal: {terminal_id}"),
        };
    } else {
        bail!("Unsupported platform");
    }

    Ok(())
}

/// Reveals the file or directory at `path` in the platform's file manager.
///
/// On macOS this reveals the item in Finder, on Windows it selects the item in
/// Explorer, and on Linux it opens either the directory itself or the file's
/// parent directory.
#[but_api]
#[instrument(err(Debug))]
pub fn show_in_finder(path: String) -> Result<()> {
    // Cross-platform implementation to open file/directory in the default file manager
    // macOS: Opens in Finder (with -R flag to reveal the item)
    // Windows: Opens in File Explorer
    // Linux: Opens in the default file manager

View on GitHub (pinned to caf1f223d3)

Solutions

1. Run the app/CLI on macOS, Linux, or Windows - the supported platforms for terminal launching
2. Gate the 'open in terminal' feature in your UI/CLI on the host platform instead of letting the call fail
3. If you must support another OS, add a platform branch plus a terminal-id-to-binary mapping in crates/but-api/src/open/mod.rs and crates/but-api/src/open/terminal.rs

Example fix

// before (TS/SDK caller, always shown)
await sdk.openInTerminal(terminalId, path);

// after
const supported = ['Darwin', 'Linux', 'Windows_NT'].includes(os.type());
if (supported) {
  await sdk.openInTerminal(terminalId, path);
} else {
  showInfo('Opening a terminal is not supported on this platform');
}

// TypeScript caller: gate the action on the host platform
const TERMINAL_PLATFORMS = new Set(['Darwin', 'Linux', 'Windows_NT']);
if (!TERMINAL_PLATFORMS.has(os.type())) {
  throw new Error(`open_in_terminal: unsupported platform ${os.type()}`);
}
await api.openInTerminal(terminalId, path);

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking open_in_terminal (Tauri command, N-API/SDK openInTerminal, or CLI equivalent) from a build targeting anything other than macOS, Linux, or Windows - e.g. FreeBSD/OpenBSD/illumos builds, or a custom cross-compile target. Note this is a compile-time cfg chain, so the same call site never fails on a supported platform.

Common situations: Running the but CLI or embedding but-api on a BSD or niche OS; wasm/emscripten experimental builds; CI cross-compilation smoke tests against unusual targets.

Understand the failure class

Background: "unsupported platform" / "not supported on this platform" errors: what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 47 libraries.

Related errors

• validated AI responses only produce content picks
• {terminal_name} exited with non-zero status: {status_code}
• Failed to open {terminal_name} ({status_code}): {stderr}
• Unknown terminal: {terminal_id}
• Path does not exist: {path}

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@caf1f223d3 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c688532cde6a1dc4. Report an issue: GitHub.