n8n-io/n8n · error

Failed to create sandbox workspace directory

Error message

Failed to create sandbox workspace directory "${path}": ${getErrorMessage(error)}; command fallback failed: ${getErrorMessage(fallbackError)}

What it means

createWorkspaceDirectory tried the filesystem API first, then a `mkdir -p` shell fallback; both failed. The message chains both error messages (API error; fallback error) so the primary and fallback causes are both visible for the given path.

Solutions

  1. Compare both chained messages to find the common cause (bad path, read-only sandbox)
  2. Fix the sandbox/filesystem backend and retry workspace setup
Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/@n8n/instance-ai/src/workspace/sandbox-setup.ts:357 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of n8n-io/n8n@5ac6606e81 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a40cdfb26ff5f84c. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at packages/@n8n/instance-ai/src/workspace/sandbox-setup.ts:357

}

type WorkspaceFilesystem = NonNullable<SandboxWorkspace['filesystem']>;

async function createWorkspaceDirectory(
	workspace: SandboxWorkspace,
	filesystem: WorkspaceFilesystem,
	path: string,
): Promise<void> {
	try {
		await filesystem.mkdir(path, { recursive: true });
	} catch (error) {
		try {
			const result = await runInSandbox(workspace, `mkdir -p '${escapeSingleQuotes(path)}'`);
			if (result.exitCode === 0) return;

			throw new Error(result.stderr || `mkdir exited with code ${result.exitCode}`);
		} catch (fallbackError) {
			throw new Error(
				`Failed to create sandbox workspace directory "${path}": ${getErrorMessage(error)}; command fallback failed: ${getErrorMessage(fallbackError)}`,
			);
		}
	}
}

async function writeWorkspaceFile(
	workspace: SandboxWorkspace,
	filesystem: WorkspaceFilesystem,
	path: string,
	content: string | Buffer,
): Promise<void> {
	try {
		await filesystem.writeFile(path, content, { recursive: true });
	} catch (error) {
		try {
			await writeFileViaSandbox(workspace, path, content);
		} catch (fallbackError) {

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