What causes "blob.text() failed" in oven-sh/bun?

Read the printed pattern + errno and fix or simplify that glob in package.json

oven-sh/bun · error · Error

blob.text() failed

Error message

blob.text() failed

What it means

Running a workspace pattern through the glob walker failed with an OS-level error; the pretty error printed alongside names the offending pattern and its errno (src/install/lockfile/Package/WorkspaceMap.rs:398-440 - walker creation, iterator init, and next-match all map to GlobError).

Source

Thrown at bench/snippets/blob.mjs:27

  return small.text();
});

bench("blob.arrayBuffer(small string)", function () {
  return small.arrayBuffer();
});

// if (Blob.prototype.json) {
//   bench("blob.json(small string)", function () {
//     return small.json();
//   });
// }

bench("blob.slice()", function () {
  return small.slice();
});

if ((await small.text()) !== JSON.stringify("hello world ")) {
  throw new Error("blob.text() failed");
}

await run();

View on GitHub (pinned to 8c5296ac45)

Solutions

Read the printed pattern + errno and fix or simplify that glob in package.json
Fix filesystem permissions (or exclude) the directory the walk fails on
Replace deep `**` patterns with explicit directory lists
Test patterns with `new Bun.Glob(pattern).match(...)` before committing

Example fix

// before (package.json)
"workspaces": ["**/*"]

// after
"workspaces": ["apps/*", "packages/*"]

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

function workspacesGlobsResolve(globs) {
  for (const pattern of globs) {
    try {
      const matches = [...new Bun.Glob(pattern).scanSync(".")];
      if (matches.length === 0) console.warn(`pattern matches nothing: ${pattern}`);
    } catch {
      return false;
    }
  }
  return true;
}

Type guard

const isSimpleGlob = (p) => !/(\*\*.*\*\*|\[!|\{.*,.*\})/.test(p);

Prevention

Test new workspaces patterns with Bun.Glob before committing them
Avoid deep recursive globs over directories with permission issues or symlink loops
Fix directory permissions instead of letting the walker fail during install

When it happens

Trigger: A workspaces glob (from package.json `workspaces`/`workspaces.*` or bunfig) walking into an unreadable directory (EACCES), a path too long, a broken symlink loop, or a pattern the glob walker cannot process on your platform.

Common situations: Restrictive permissions on subdirectories (root-owned dirs inside the repo), exotic glob syntax copied from another tool, huge/deep `**` trees hitting OS limits.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of oven-sh/bun@8c5296ac45 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a4132779f89fca98. Report an issue: GitHub.