gradle/gradle · error · ResourceException

Could not write %s content to %s.

Error message

Could not write %s content to %s.

What it means

StringBackedTextResource (created by resources.text.fromString) has no backing file, so asFile(charset) materializes the string into a temporary file using Files.asCharSink(file, charset).write(string). An IOException during that write — creation failure, unwritable temp dir, disk full — is reported as ResourceException "Could not write ... content to <file>".

Source

Thrown at platforms/core-configuration/file-operations/src/main/java/org/gradle/api/internal/resources/StringBackedTextResource.java:67

    }

    @Override
    public String asString() {
        return string;
    }

    @Override
    public Reader asReader() {
        return new StringReader(string);
    }

    @Override
    public File asFile(String charset) {
        File file = tempFileProvider.createTemporaryFile("string", ".txt", "resource");
        try {
            Files.asCharSink(file, Charset.forName(charset)).write(string);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            throw new ResourceException("Could not write " + getDisplayName() + " content to " + file + ".", e);
        }
        return file;
    }

    @Override
    public File asFile() {
        return asFile(Charset.defaultCharset().name());
    }

    @Override
    public TaskDependency getBuildDependencies() {
        return TaskDependencyInternal.EMPTY;
    }

    @Override
    public Object getInputProperties() {
        return string;
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 534f27719b)

Solutions

1. Fix the temp directory (writable, space available).
2. Write the string yourself to a stable project location instead of relying on the temp file.
3. Consume the resource as .asString()/.asReader() when a File is not strictly required.

Example fix

// before
def f = resources.text.fromString(manifestText).asFile()

// after
def f = layout.buildDirectory.file('gen/manifest.xml').get().asFile()
f.parentFile.mkdirs()
f.text = manifestText

def tmp = new File(System.getProperty('java.io.tmpdir'))
if (!tmp.directory || !tmp.canWrite()) throw new GradleException("java.io.tmpdir not writable: $tmp")

try {
    def f = resources.text.fromString(text).asFile()
} catch (org.gradle.api.resources.ResourceException e) {
    def f = layout.buildDirectory.file('gen/out.txt').get().asFile()
    f.parentFile.mkdirs()
    f.text = text
}

When it happens

Trigger: resources.text.fromString(someString).asFile() or .asFile(charset) while java.io.tmpdir is unwritable, the disk is full, or the freshly created temp file is locked by another process.

Common situations: Generating manifests or descriptors from strings and passing them to file-based APIs; hermetic CI containers with read-only /tmp; agents with exhausted disk quotas.

Related errors

• Could not write %s content to %s.
• Could not write %s content to %s.
• Cannot create file for char source %s
• Loading a TextResource from an insecure URI, without explici
• Loading a TextResource from an insecure redirect, without ex

AI-assisted analysis of gradle/gradle@534f27719b (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a058d4e057ee92fe. Report an issue: GitHub.