java-native-access/jna · error · IOException

The following files could not be trashed

Error message

The following files could not be trashed: {failed}

What it means

MacFileUtils.moveToTrash() calls FSMoveObjectToTrashSync for each requested file and collects any that fail with their OSStatus code. If any file could not be moved to the Trash, an IOException listing every failed path with its status code is thrown.

Solutions

1. Check each file exists and is readable/writable before calling moveToTrash
2. Catch the IOException and inspect the included OSStatus codes to handle individual failures
3. Fall back to direct File.delete() for files that cannot be trashed

Example fix

// before
FileUtils.getInstance().moveToTrash(file);
// after
try {
    FileUtils.getInstance().moveToTrash(file);
} catch (IOException e) {
    if (!file.delete()) {
        throw e;
    }
}

// pre-check files
for (File f : files) {
    if (!f.exists() || !f.canWrite()) throw new IOException("Cannot trash: " + f);
}

try { FileUtils.getInstance().moveToTrash(files); } catch (IOException e) { logger.warn("Trash failed: {}", e.getMessage()); }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling FileUtils.moveToTrash(File...) on macOS when the Finder trash operation fails: nonexistent path, permission denied, file locked, network volume that does not support trashing, or a non-zero OSStatus returned by FSMoveObjectToTrashSync.

Common situations: Attempting to trash files on read-only or network-mounted volumes; files deleted concurrently by another process; sandboxed apps lacking Finder integration; paths with insufficient permissions.

Related errors

• CFString conversion fails or the provided buffer is too…
• CFString maximum number of bytes exceeds LONG_MAX.
• err
• No trash location found (define fileutils.trash to be the…
• Output directory NOT sucessfully created to

AI-assisted analysis of java-native-access/jna@d036ad9781 (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/65a9e6d97483acd5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at contrib/platform/src/com/sun/jna/platform/mac/MacFileUtils.java:88

    @Override
    public void moveToTrash(File... files) throws IOException {
        List<String> failed = new ArrayList<>();
        for (File src: files) {
            FileManager.FSRef fsref = new FileManager.FSRef();
            int status = FileManager.INSTANCE.FSPathMakeRefWithOptions(src.getAbsolutePath(),
                                                                       FileManager.kFSPathMakeRefDoNotFollowLeafSymlink,
                                                                       fsref, null);
            if (status != 0) {
                failed.add(src + " (FSRef: " + status + ")");
                continue;
            }
            status = FileManager.INSTANCE.FSMoveObjectToTrashSync(fsref, null, 0);
            if (status != 0) {
                failed.add(src + " (" + status + ")");
            }
        }
        if (failed.size() > 0) {
            throw new IOException("The following files could not be trashed: " + failed);
        }
    }
}

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