hasura/graphql-engine · error

could not rename/copy file from %q to %q: %w

Error message

could not rename/copy file from %q to %q: %w

What it means

moveFiles calls renameOrCopy for each resolved move and the rename (with cross-device copy fallback) failed for one from→to pair. The wrapped error is the underlying os.Rename or copyTree failure.

Source

Thrown at cli/plugins/move.go:190

	moves, err := findMoveTargets(fromDir, toDir, fo)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.E(op, fmt.Errorf("could not find move targets: %w", err))
	}

	for _, m := range moves {
		err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(m.to), 0o755)
		if err != nil {
			return errors.E(
				op,
				fmt.Errorf("failed to create move path %q: %w", filepath.Dir(m.to), err),
			)
		}

		err = renameOrCopy(m.from, m.to)
		if err != nil {
			return errors.E(
				op,
				fmt.Errorf("could not rename/copy file from %q to %q: %w", m.from, m.to, err),
			)
		}
	}

	return nil
}

func moveAllFiles(fromDir, toDir string, fos []FileOperation) error {
	var op errors.Op = "plugins.moveAllFiles"

	for _, fo := range fos {
		err := moveFiles(fromDir, toDir, fo)
		if err != nil {
			return errors.E(op, fmt.Errorf("failed moving files: %w", err))
		}
	}

	return nil

View on GitHub (pinned to 724551b9ae)

Solutions

1. Inspect the wrapped error for the OS-level cause (permission, ENOSPC, missing file)
2. Fix permissions or free disk space on the destination filesystem
3. Clean the plugin's install directory and re-run the install
4. If the source vanished (race), re-extract the archive / re-download and retry

for _, m := range moves {
    if _, err := os.Lstat(m.from); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("source vanished: %w", err) }
}

if err := moveToInstallDir(...); err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "rename/copy file") {
    // fix perms/space, remove partial install, retry install command once
}

When it happens

Trigger: A per-file move failing: destination exists and cannot be removed, permission error on source or destination, cross-device rename where the copyTree fallback also fails (e.g. unreadable source file, disk full).

Common situations: Partial previous install left root-owned files; antivirus/locking on Windows; /tmp on a different device with the fallback copy hitting a full disk; file removed between glob and rename.

Related errors

• rename exe to old: %w
• writing metadata to file: %w
• error getting directory details: %w
• write file: %w
• cannot create global config directory: %w

AI-assisted analysis of hasura/graphql-engine@724551b9ae (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/28b45b291e83adca. Report an issue: GitHub.