hasura/graphql-engine · error

could not rename/copy directory %q to %q: %w

Error message

could not rename/copy directory %q to %q: %w

What it means

The final atomic-ish step of moveToInstallDir — renameOrCopy(tmp, installDir) moving the staged temp directory into the plugin's install directory — failed. The wrapped error comes from renameOrCopy: target stat/cleanup problems, os.Rename failure, or a failed cross-device copyTree fallback.

Source

Thrown at cli/plugins/move.go:239

	tmp, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "hasura-temp-move")
	if err != nil {
		return errors.E(op, fmt.Errorf("failed to find a temporary director: %w", err))
	}
	defer os.RemoveAll(tmp)

	if err = moveAllFiles(srcDir, tmp, fos); err != nil {
		return errors.E(op, fmt.Errorf("failed to move files: %w", err))
	}

	if err = renameOrCopy(tmp, installDir); err != nil {
		defer func() {
			os.Remove(installDir)
		}()

		return errors.E(
			op,
			fmt.Errorf("could not rename/copy directory %q to %q: %w", tmp, installDir, err),
		)
	}

	return nil
}

// renameOrCopy will try to rename a dir or file. If rename is not supported, a manual copy will be performed.
// Existing files at "to" will be deleted.
func renameOrCopy(from, to string) error {
	var op errors.Op = "plugins.renameOrCopy"

	fi, err := os.Stat(to)
	if err != nil && !stderrors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
		return errors.E(op, fmt.Errorf("error checking move target dir %q: %w", to, err))
	}

	if fi != nil && fi.IsDir() {
		err := os.RemoveAll(to)

View on GitHub (pinned to 724551b9ae)

Solutions

1. Check the wrapped error for the OS cause (permission, ENOSPC, EXDEV fallback failure)
2. Remove/clean the existing install dir for the plugin and any stale artifacts, then retry
3. Free disk space or set TMPDIR to a filesystem with room (ideally same device as the install dir)
4. Fix ownership of the plugins install tree so the current user can replace it

Example fix

# before: tmpfs /tmp too small for copy fallback
# after
TMPDIR=$HOME/tmp hasura plugins install my-plugin

if fi, err := os.Stat(installDir); err == nil && fi.IsDir() {
    if err := os.RemoveAll(installDir); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("cannot clear old install: %w", err) }
}

if err := installPlugin(p); err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "could not rename/copy directory") {
    // clear installDir, ensure same-device TMPDIR with space, retry
}

When it happens

Trigger: Staging succeeded but the tmp→installDir rename failed: installDir exists and cannot be removed (permissions), a cross-device move (/tmp vs home) where copyTree also hit an error, or ENOSPC during the copy.

Common situations: /tmp on tmpfs while the plugins dir is on disk, and the copy runs out of space; leftover root-owned install dir from a previous sudo install; Windows file locking on the target.

Related errors

• could not rename/copy file from %q to %q: %w
• failed to copy directory tree as a fallback: %w
• rename exe to old: %w
• writing metadata to file: %w
• reading metadata file: %w

AI-assisted analysis of hasura/graphql-engine@724551b9ae (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1f22febe64b2fada. Report an issue: GitHub.