paperclipai/paperclip · error

Refusing to modify non-regular shell rc file

Error message

Refusing to modify non-regular shell rc file ${rcPath}.

What it means

addManagedPathBlock lstat'ed the shell rc file and found it is not a regular unlinked file, so the guard refuses to append the PATH block to unsafe rc files (e.g. symlinks).

Solutions

1. Ensure ${rcPath} is a regular file (not a symlink or device) owned by you, then retry.
2. Update your shell rc file manually.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/src/install-store.ts:428 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@01ad858492 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/38af71133f796e4c. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cli/src/install-store.ts:434

    fs.rmSync(paths.shimPath, { force: true });
    return true;
  } catch (error) {
    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT") return true;
    throw error;
  }
}

export function managedPathBlock(): string {
  return `${PATH_BLOCK_START}\nexport PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"\n${PATH_BLOCK_END}`;
}

export function addManagedPathBlock(rcPath: string): boolean {
  let existing = "";
  let mode = 0o600;
  try {
    const stat = fs.lstatSync(rcPath);
    if (!stat.isFile() || stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
      throw new Error(`Refusing to modify non-regular shell rc file ${rcPath}.`);
    }
    assertOwnedByCurrentUser(stat, rcPath);
    mode = stat.mode & 0o777;
    existing = fs.readFileSync(rcPath, "utf8");
  } catch (error) {
    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
  }
  if (existing.includes(PATH_BLOCK_START)) return false;
  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(rcPath), { recursive: true });
  const prefix = existing.length > 0 && !existing.endsWith("\n") ? "\n" : "";
  writeFileAtomic(rcPath, `${existing}${prefix}${managedPathBlock()}\n`, mode);
  return true;
}

export function removeManagedPathBlock(rcPath: string): boolean {
  let existing: string;
  let mode: number;
  try {

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