jdx/mise · error

dotfile {target}: inline content does not support mode, excl

Error message

dotfile {target}: inline content does not support mode, exclude, or manifest

What it means

Inline `content` dotfiles are written directly with fixed defaults; the concepts of mode, exclude patterns, and manifests only make sense for sourced files (copy/symlink from the dotfiles root). If a table entry sets `content` together with any of `mode`, `exclude`, or `manifest`, validation fails because the combination is unsupported rather than partially honored.

Source

Thrown at src/system/files.rs:594

                        );
                    }
                }
            }
            if resolve_target_arg(&target).is_relative() {
                bail!("dotfile target must be absolute or start with ~/: {target}");
            }
            if let FileTomlEntry::Table {
                source,
                content,
                mode,
                manifest,
                exclude,
                ..
            } = entry
            {
                if content.is_some() && (mode.is_some() || exclude.is_some() || manifest.is_some())
                {
                    bail!(
                        "dotfile {target}: inline content does not support mode, exclude, or manifest"
                    );
                }
                let mode = match mode.as_deref() {
                    Some(value) => FileMode::parse(value).ok_or_else(|| {
                        eyre::eyre!("unknown dotfile mode {value:?} for {target}")
                    })?,
                    None => default_mode(),
                };
                if mode == FileMode::Track
                    && (source.is_some()
                        || content.is_some()
                        || manifest.is_some()
                        || exclude.is_some())
                {
                    bail!(
                        "tracked file {target} cannot declare source, content, manifest, or exclude"
                    );

View on GitHub (pinned to afd2eddd3a)

Solutions

1. Remove `mode`, `exclude`, and `manifest` keys from the entry that uses `content`.
2. If you need a specific file mode or exclusions, switch back to `source` (a file in the dotfiles root) and keep those keys there.
3. Set the desired permissions directly on the source file if using symlink/copy mode.

Example fix

// before
[dotfiles."~/.netrc"]
content = "machine ..."
mode = "600"

// after
[dotfiles."~/.netrc"]
content = "machine ..."

function assertInlineContentEntry(entry, target) {
  if (entry.content != null && ['mode','exclude','manifest'].some(k => k in entry))
    throw new Error(`${target}: inline content cannot combine with mode/exclude/manifest`);
}

try {
  applyDotfiles();
} catch (e) {
  if (/inline content does not support/.test(e.message)) {
    console.error('Strip mode/exclude/manifest from the content-based entry or switch to source');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Declaring e.g. `[dotfiles."~/.x"]` with `content = "..."` plus `mode = "755"`, `exclude = [...]`, or `manifest = "..."` in the same table.

Common situations: Converting an existing source-based entry to inline content but leaving `mode`/`exclude` behind, or copy-pasting a template entry and swapping `source` for `content` without cleaning up other keys.

Related errors

• invalid dotfile declaration {target} in {}
• unknown dotfile key {key:?} for {target} in {}
• tracked file {target} cannot declare source, content, manife
• dotfile {target} cannot declare both source and content
• invalid manifest {manifest:?} for dotfile {target}

AI-assisted analysis of jdx/mise@afd2eddd3a (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0b10363d5d8fcaef. Report an issue: GitHub.