nikivdev/code · error

{} failed with status {}

Error message

{} failed with status {}

What it means

run_command is the generic inherit-stdio command runner used by apply_config, ensure_kar_repo, update_repo, clone_repo, and ensure_origin_url. When the spawned command exits non-zero it bails with `<cmd> failed with status <status>`. Unlike git_capture, output is inherited, so the child's own diagnostics are already visible on the terminal.

Source

Thrown at src/home.rs:717

        bail!("git {} failed", args.join(" "));
    }
    Ok(String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout).trim().to_string())
}

fn run_command(cmd: &str, args: &[&str], cwd: Option<&Path>) -> Result<()> {
    let mut command = Command::new(cmd);
    command.args(args);
    if let Some(dir) = cwd {
        command.current_dir(dir);
    }
    let status = command
        .stdin(Stdio::inherit())
        .stdout(Stdio::inherit())
        .stderr(Stdio::inherit())
        .status()
        .with_context(|| format!("failed to run {}", cmd))?;
    if !status.success() {
        bail!("{} failed with status {}", cmd, status);
    }
    Ok(())
}

fn read_internal_repo(config_dir: &Path) -> Result<Option<String>> {
    let candidates = [config_dir.join("home.toml"), config_dir.join(".home.toml")];
    for path in candidates {
        if !path.exists() {
            continue;
        }
        let raw = fs::read_to_string(&path)
            .with_context(|| format!("failed to read {}", path.display()))?;
        let parsed: HomeConfigFile =
            toml::from_str(&raw).with_context(|| format!("failed to parse {}", path.display()))?;
        let from_section = parsed
            .home
            .as_ref()
            .and_then(|h| h.internal_repo.clone().or(h.internal_repo_url.clone()));

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

  1. Read the inherited output above the error for the child's real failure reason
  2. Fix auth/network and retry (e.g. `gh auth login`, check SSH keys)
  3. Run the failing command manually in the same directory to reproduce
  4. Resolve repo conflicts (stash/commit local changes) before update steps

Example fix

// before
git pull   # conflict: local changes
// after
git stash && git pull && git stash pop
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// check git availability and clean state before managed commands
let status = Command::new("git").args(["-C", dest, "status", "--porcelain"]).output()?;
if !status.status.success() { bail!("git status failed; fix repo state first"); }

Try / catch

match run_command(...) {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("failed with status") => {
        eprintln!("{} — see inherited output above for the child's error", e);
    }
    r => r?,
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Any managed command (git clone/pull, apply-config scripts, etc.) spawned via run_command exits with a non-zero status; the error reports the command name and ExitStatus.

Common situations: git clone failing due to bad URL, auth failure, or missing network; update_repo pull hitting merge conflicts; an apply_config hook script failing; missing binary on PATH caught at spawn is a separate context error.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0885f1cde66ecf47. Report an issue: GitHub.