nikivdev/code · error · anyhow::Error

lin is not on PATH. Build/install from this repo (scripts/de

Error message

lin is not on PATH. Build/install from this repo (scripts/deploy.sh) so flow can delegate watchers to it.

What it means

flow delegates file-watching to a companion binary called `lin`. ensure_lin_available_interactive tries to find `lin` on PATH (and offers to install a bundled copy); if nothing is found and installation did not succeed, it aborts with this message telling you to build/install from the repo.

Source

Thrown at src/doctor.rs:31

use crate::vcs;

/// Ensure the lin watcher daemon is available, prompting to install a bundled
/// copy if it is missing from PATH. Returns the resolved binary path.
pub fn ensure_lin_available_interactive() -> Result<PathBuf> {
    if let Ok(path) = which::which("lin") {
        println!("✅ lin watcher daemon found at {}", path.display());
        return Ok(path);
    }

    if let Some(bundled) = find_bundled_lin() {
        if prompt_install_lin(&bundled)? {
            let installed = install_lin(&bundled)?;
            println!("✅ Installed lin to {}", installed.display());
            return Ok(installed);
        }
    }

    bail!(
        "lin is not on PATH. Build/install from this repo (scripts/deploy.sh) so flow can delegate watchers to it."
    );
}

pub fn run(_opts: DoctorOpts) -> Result<()> {
    println!("Running flow doctor checks...\n");

    let zerobrew_available = ensure_zerobrew_available_interactive()?;

    ensure_flox_available(zerobrew_available)?;
    ensure_jj_available(zerobrew_available)?;
    let _ = ensure_lin_available_interactive();
    ensure_direnv_on_path(zerobrew_available)?;

    match detect_shell()? {
        Some(shell) => ensure_shell_hook(shell)?,
        None => println!(
            "⚠️  Unable to detect your shell from $SHELL. Add the direnv hook manually (see https://direnv.net)."

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

1. Run scripts/deploy.sh from this repo to build and install lin
2. Install the bundled copy when the doctor prompts to install lin
3. Add the directory containing the lin binary to your PATH

Example fix

// shell
// before
$ which lin  # not found
// after
$ ./scripts/deploy.sh
$ which lin  # /usr/local/bin/lin

if which::which("lin").is_err() {
    eprintln!("lin missing; run scripts/deploy.sh before flow commands");
}

match flow::doctor::ensure_lin_available_interactive() {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("lin is not on PATH") => {
        eprintln!("Run `./scripts/deploy.sh` to build/install lin, then retry.");
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
    Ok(_) => {}
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `flow doctor` (or any flow command that calls ensure_lin_available_interactive) when `lin` is not on PATH and the bundled auto-install path was skipped or failed.

Common situations: Fresh machine where scripts/deploy.sh was never run, lin built but its bin dir not added to PATH, or lin removed after a cleanup.

Related errors

• flox is not installed. Install it from https://flox.dev/docs
• direnv is not on PATH. Install it from https://direnv.net/#i
• handled before project context load
• ai not found in PATH
• jj is required but not available on PATH

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c11af76be25808e8. Report an issue: GitHub.