n8n-io/n8n · error

File "${input.path}" is not loaded.

Error message

File "${input.path}" is not loaded.

What it means

In the str-replace-file tool, after readFile sets initialText and editor.execute() runs the 'str_replace' command, getText() must return the edited string. If it returns null the document is somehow unloaded — an invariant violation of TextEditorDocument that is not reachable in normal flow (initialText was just provided). The throw prevents writing `null` to the file.

Source

Thrown at packages/@n8n/agents/src/workspace/tools/str-replace-file.ts:52

		)
		.input(inputSchema)
		.output(outputSchema)
		.handler(async (input, ctx) => {
			try {
				const content = await filesystem.readFile(input.path, {
					encoding: 'utf-8',
					abortSignal: ctx.abortSignal,
				});
				const editor = new TextEditorDocument({ initialText: content.toString() });
				const result = editor.execute({
					command: 'str_replace',
					path: input.path,
					old_str: input.old_str,
					new_str: input.new_str,
				});
				const editedContent = editor.getText();
				if (editedContent === null) {
					throw new Error(`File "${input.path}" is not loaded.`);
				}

				await filesystem.writeFile(input.path, editedContent, {
					overwrite: true,
					abortSignal: ctx.abortSignal,
				});
				return { success: true, result };
			} catch (error) {
				if (isAbortError(error)) throw error;
				return createErrorOutput(error);
			}
		})
		.build();
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 5ac6606e81)

Solutions

1. Report as an internal bug in @n8n/agents with the path and old_str/new_str.
2. Retry with a fresh TextEditorDocument instance.
3. Confirm old_str actually exists in the file — a no-op match shouldn't null the buffer, but verify the editor version is current.

try {
  return await strReplaceFile(...);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && /is not loaded/.test(e.message)) {
    // internal invariant — retry with a fresh TextEditorDocument
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Not reachable in normal use — initialText is set from the file content immediately before. Would only fire on a TextEditorDocument regression where execute() clears the buffer, or if the editor instance is shared/concurrently mutated.

Common situations: A bug in TextEditorDocument.execute() that nulls internal state; reusing one editor across files; future refactor breaking the loaded-text invariant.

Related errors

• File "${input.path}" is not loaded.
• Sandbox does not support command execution
• Deferred tool name "${tool.name}" is reserved
• Duplicate deferred tool name "${tool.name}"
• ${toolName} policy.maxChildren must be a finite positive int

AI-assisted analysis of n8n-io/n8n@5ac6606e81 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fa786d537eb0ce95. Report an issue: GitHub.