openai/codex · error · anyhow::Error

refusing to reuse symlink {}

Error message

refusing to reuse symlink {}

What it means

Error "refusing to reuse symlink {}" thrown in openai/codex.

Source

Thrown at codex-rs/network-proxy/src/certs.rs:766

#[cfg(not(windows))]
fn sync_parent_dir(parent: &Path) -> Result<()> {
    // Best-effort durability: ensure the directory entry is persisted too.
    let dir = File::open(parent).with_context(|| format!("failed to open {}", parent.display()))?;
    dir.sync_all()
        .with_context(|| format!("failed to fsync {}", parent.display()))
}

#[cfg(windows)]
fn sync_parent_dir(_parent: &Path) -> Result<()> {
    Ok(())
}

fn write_atomic_create_new_or_reuse(path: &Path, contents: &[u8], mode: u32) -> Result<()> {
    if fs::symlink_metadata(path)
        .ok()
        .is_some_and(|metadata| metadata.file_type().is_symlink())
    {
        return Err(anyhow!("refusing to reuse symlink {}", path.display()));
    }
    if fs::read(path).ok().as_deref() == Some(contents) {
        return Ok(());
    }
    if path.exists() {
        return Err(anyhow!(
            "refusing to reuse existing mismatched file {}",
            path.display()
        ));
    }
    match write_atomic_create_new(path, contents, mode) {
        Ok(()) => Ok(()),
        Err(_err) if fs::read(path).ok().as_deref() == Some(contents) => Ok(()),
        Err(err) => Err(err),
    }
}

#[cfg(unix)]

View on GitHub (pinned to 339751715c)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at codex-rs/network-proxy/src/certs.rs:766 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of openai/codex@339751715c (2026-08-25). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2a4f7ca4a27857b9. Report an issue: GitHub.