jgraph/drawio-desktop · warning · Error

conflict

Error message

conflict

What it means

saveFile's non-overwrite path (src/main/electron.js:3553-3561) stats the target file and compares its mtimeMs to origStat (via isConflict, line 3168-3171). If they differ, another process edited the file since drawio last read it, so saving would clobber someone else's work — it throws 'conflict' instead.

Source

Thrown at src/main/electron.js:3560

				}
			}
		}

		return await writeFile();
	};
	
	if (overwrite)
	{
		return await doSaveFile(true);
	}
	else
	{
		let stat = fs.existsSync(fileObject.path)?
					await fsProm.stat(fileObject.path) : null;

		if (stat && isConflict(origStat, stat))
		{
			throw new Error('conflict');
		}
		else
		{
			return await doSaveFile(stat == null);
		}
	}
};

async function writeFile(filePath, data, enc)
{
	if (!checkFileContent(data, enc))
	{
		throw new Error('Invalid file data');
	}

	await assertWritablePath(filePath);

	let fh;

View on GitHub (pinned to 403a2cb79f)

Solutions

  1. Prompt the user and re-save with overwrite=true (args.overwrite) after they confirm.
  2. Re-read the file and merge or pick a winner before saving.
  3. Avoid editing shared/cloud-synced diagrams with two writers; close other editors first.

Example fix

// before
saveFile(fileObject, data, origStat, false);

// after
try { await saveFile(fileObject, data, origStat, false); }
catch (e) {
  if (e.message === 'conflict' && await confirmOverwrite()) {
    await saveFile(fileObject, data, await fs.stat(fileObject.path), true);
  } else throw e;
}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

async function fileUnchangedSince(origStat, p) {
	if (!origStat || !fs.existsSync(p)) return true;
	const s = await fsProm.stat(p);
	return s.mtimeMs === origStat.mtimeMs;
}

Try / catch

try { await saveFile(fileObject, data, origStat, false); }
catch (e) {
	if (e.message === 'conflict' && await userConfirmsOverwrite()) {
		const fresh = await fsProm.stat(fileObject.path);
		await saveFile(fileObject, data, fresh, true);
	} else throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: User A opens a shared file, user B saves it, then user A triggers save without overwrite=true; a cloud-sync client rewrote the file (touching mtime) between open and save; an external editor auto-formatted it.

Common situations: Network shares, Dropbox/OneDrive/Google Drive folders, git checkouts touched by another tool, or two drawio windows editing the same file.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jgraph/drawio-desktop@403a2cb79f (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4d9fcbf87ca96a59. Report an issue: GitHub.