github/spec-kit · error · RuntimeError

Cannot safely update symlinked Copilot prompt artifact '{pro

Error message

Cannot safely update symlinked Copilot prompt artifact '{prompt_file}'

What it means

Error "Cannot safely update symlinked Copilot prompt artifact '{prompt_file}'" thrown in github/spec-kit.

Source

Thrown at src/specify_cli/extensions/_commands.py:2086

                                new_command_paths_absent_before_update.append(
                                    command_file
                                )
                                remember_absent_parent_dirs(
                                    command_file, commands_dir
                                )

                            if agent_name == "copilot":
                                prompts_dir = (
                                    project_root / ".github" / "prompts"
                                )
                                prompt_file = (
                                    prompts_dir / f"{command_name}.prompt.md"
                                )
                                _AgentReg._ensure_inside(
                                    prompt_file, prompts_dir
                                )
                                if prompt_file.is_symlink():
                                    raise RuntimeError(
                                        "Cannot safely update symlinked Copilot "
                                        f"prompt artifact '{prompt_file}'"
                                    )
                                backup_prompt_path = (
                                    backup_commands_dir
                                    / "copilot-prompts"
                                    / prompt_file.relative_to(prompts_dir)
                                )
                                if (
                                    prompt_file.exists()
                                    or prompt_file.is_symlink()
                                ):
                                    backup_command_artifact(
                                        prompt_file, backup_prompt_path
                                    )
                                else:
                                    new_command_paths_absent_before_update.append(
                                        prompt_file

View on GitHub (pinned to bf88c9f9a8)

Solutions

1. Replace the symlinked Copilot prompt artifact with a regular file, then retry the update.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at src/specify_cli/extensions/_commands.py:2086 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of github/spec-kit@bf88c9f9a8 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/04a15a0c495fe9db. Report an issue: GitHub.