hashicorp/vagrant · error · VagrantPlugins::SyncedFolderSMB::Errors::PruneShareFailed

Pruning an SMB share failed! Details about the failure are s

Error message

Pruning an SMB share failed! Details about the failure are shown
below. Please inspect the error message and correct any problems.

Share name: %{name}

Stderr: %{stderr}

Stdout: %{stdout}

What it means

SyncedFolderSMB::Errors::PruneShareFailed raised at plugins/hosts/windows/cap/smb.rb:63. When machines go away, Vagrant computes stale `vgt-*` shares, warns about a UAC prompt (sleeping UAC_PROMPT_WAIT), then runs the removal script elevated via `Vagrant::Util::PowerShell.execute(script_path, *prune_shares, sudo: true)`; a non-zero exit raises, with the failing share name extracted from stdout by stripping the literal "share name: " prefix.

Source

Thrown at plugins/hosts/windows/cap/smb.rb:63

              @@logger.info("removing smb share name=#{share_name} id=#{m_id}")
              share_name
            else
              @@logger.info("skipping smb share removal, not owned name=#{share_name}")
              @@logger.debug("smb share ID not present name=#{share_name} id=#{m_id} description=#{share_info["Description"]}")
              nil
            end
          end.compact

          @@logger.debug("shares to be removed: #{prune_shares}")

          if prune_shares.size > 0
            machine.env.ui.warn("\n" + I18n.t("vagrant_sf_smb.uac.prune_warning") + "\n")
            sleep UAC_PROMPT_WAIT
            @@logger.info("remove shares: #{prune_shares}")
            result = Vagrant::Util::PowerShell.execute(script_path, *prune_shares, sudo: true)
            if result.exit_code != 0
              failed_name = result.stdout.to_s.sub("share name: ", "")
              raise SyncedFolderSMB::Errors::PruneShareFailed,
                name: failed_name,
                stderr: result.stderr,
                stdout: result.stdout
            end
          end
        end

        def self.smb_prepare(env, machine, folders, opts)
          script_path = File.expand_path("../../scripts/set_share.ps1", __FILE__)

          shares = []
          current_shares = existing_shares
          folders.each do |id, data|
            hostpath = data[:hostpath].to_s

            chksum_id = Digest::MD5.hexdigest(id)
            name = "vgt-#{machine_id(machine)}-#{chksum_id}"
            data[:smb_id] ||= name

View on GitHub (pinned to 35f3160f4a)

Solutions

1. Remove the named share manually in elevated PowerShell: `Remove-SmbShare -Name "<Share name from error>" -Force` (or `net share <name> /delete`)
2. Close programs holding files under the share, then retry the vagrant command
3. Accept the UAC elevation prompt when the prune warning appears — Vagrant waits for it
4. Bulk-clean stale shares when nothing is running: `Get-SmbShare vgt-* | Remove-SmbShare -Force`

Example fix

# before — share held open, prune fails during `vagrant destroy`
# error: PruneShareFailed name=vgt-abc123-...
# after — free the handle and remove manually, then retry
Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.Path -like 'C:\shared\*' } | Stop-Object -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-SmbShare -Name "vgt-abc123-..." -Force
# then: vagrant destroy

# Before destroy, see which stale shares exist and pre-remove them
# powershell: Get-SmbShare -Name "vgt-*" | Select Name,Path
stale = `powershell -NoProfile -Command "Get-SmbShare -Name 'vgt-*' | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name"`.split
stale.each { |n| system("powershell -Command \"Remove-SmbShare -Name #{n} -Force\"") }

begin
  machine.action_destroy
rescue VagrantPlugins::SyncedFolderSMB::Errors::PruneShareFailed => e
  warn "prune failed for #{e.data[:name]}: #{e.data[:stderr]}"
  # non-fatal for the destroy workflow: log, remove manually, continue
  system("powershell -Command \"Remove-SmbShare -Name '#{e.data[:name]}' -Force\"")
end

When it happens

Trigger: `vagrant destroy`/`halt` (or a subsequent up that prunes) on Windows where the elevated Remove-SmbShare fails: UAC prompt dismissed, a share held open by file handles, the share already deleted by someone else, or the Server (lanmanserver) service stopped.

Common situations: User dismisses the UAC dialog during the wait; Explorer or a process holds files in the shared path; stale vgt- shares from crashed runs; group policy restricting share management.

Related errors

• Exporting an SMB share failed! Details about the failure are
• Vagrant requires administrator access for pruning SMB shares
• Vagrant is unable to setup a requested SMB share. An SMB sha
• Vagrant attempted to execute the capability '%{cap}' on the
• Vagrant requires administrator access to create SMB shares a

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/vagrant@35f3160f4a (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a3799fb285492350. Report an issue: GitHub.