What causes "unable to open path %q" in matryer/xbar?

Verify the path exists (os.Stat) before calling OpenPath

unable to open path %q

Error message

unable to open path %q

What it means

OpenPath runs the OS `open` command on the given path to reveal it in Finder. If the underlying command fails (nonexistent path, wrong type), the error is wrapped with errors.Wrapf(err, "unable to open path %q", path).

Source

Thrown at app/command_service.go:51

func (c *CommandService) RefreshAllPlugins() {
	c.OnRefresh()
}

// WindowHide hides the window.
func (c *CommandService) WindowHide() {
	c.runtime.Window.Hide()
}

// WindowMinimise minimises the window.
func (c *CommandService) WindowMinimise() {
	c.runtime.Window.Minimise()
}

// OpenPath opens a window.
func (c CommandService) OpenPath(path string) error {
	err := c.runCommand("open", path)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.Wrapf(err, "unable to open path %q", path)
	}
	return nil
}

// OpenURL opens a window.
func (c CommandService) OpenURL(url string) error {
	err := c.runCommand("open", url)
	if err != nil {
		return errors.Wrapf(err, "unable to open URL %s", url)
	}
	return nil
}

// OpenFile opens a file for editing.
func (c CommandService) OpenFile(path string) error {
	err := c.runCommand("open", filepath.Join(pluginDirectory, path))
	if err != nil {
		return errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to open %q", path)

View on GitHub (pinned to d624239058)

Solutions

Verify the path exists (os.Stat) before calling OpenPath
Recreate the plugins directory if it was deleted
Check the platform supports the `open` command (macOS)

Example fix

// before
svc.OpenPath(maybeMissingDir)
// after
if _, err := os.Stat(maybeMissingDir); err != nil {
    os.MkdirAll(maybeMissingDir, 0o755)
}
svc.OpenPath(maybeMissingDir)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// before OpenPath: ensure the path exists and is a directory
info, err := os.Stat(path)
if err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("path %q does not exist", path)
}
if !info.IsDir() {
    return fmt.Errorf("path %q is not a directory", path)
}

Try / catch

// Go
if err := svc.OpenPath(dir); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "unable to open path") {
        return fmt.Errorf("could not open %q: %w", dir, err)
    }
    return err
}

Prevention

Recreate the plugins directory if missing before opening it
Use os.Stat to verify existence before opening
Confirm the app runs on a platform where `open` exists (macOS)

When it happens

Trigger: Calling CommandService.OpenPath with a path that does not exist, is not a directory, or when the `open` command itself fails on the platform.

Common situations: Plugins folder was deleted or moved; running on a system where `open` is unavailable; passing a file where a directory is expected.

Understand the failure class

Background: "File not found" and ENOENT errors: why libraries can't find a file that should exist — this error's family across 50 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of matryer/xbar@d624239058 (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c7f02fa436de2d0e. Report an issue: GitHub.