Refusing to write service definition in directory not owned…

Error message

Refusing to write service definition in directory not owned by the current user: ${directoryPath}.

What it means

The directory holding the service definition is not owned by the current user, so writing the unit file is refused to avoid modifying system or other users' service directories.

Solutions

Change ownership of ${directoryPath} to the current user or choose a directory you own.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/src/services/service-manager.ts:144 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@120ae5428f (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1f8b691beab89a7b. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cli/src/services/service-manager.ts:144

  </dict>
  <key>RunAtLoad</key><true/>
  <key>KeepAlive</key><true/>
  <key>ThrottleInterval</key><integer>5</integer>
  <key>ExitTimeOut</key><integer>300</integer>
  <key>StandardOutPath</key><string>${escapeXml(input.stdoutPath)}</string>
  <key>StandardErrorPath</key><string>${escapeXml(input.stderrPath)}</string>
</dict>
</plist>
`;
}

async function writeIfChanged(filePath: string, contents: string): Promise<boolean> {
  const directoryPath = path.dirname(filePath);
  await fs.mkdir(directoryPath, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
  const directoryStat = await fs.lstat(directoryPath);
  if (!directoryStat.isDirectory() || directoryStat.isSymbolicLink()) throw new Error(`Refusing to write service definition through unsafe directory ${directoryPath}.`);
  const currentUid = process.getuid?.();
  if (currentUid !== undefined && directoryStat.uid !== currentUid) throw new Error(`Refusing to write service definition in directory not owned by the current user: ${directoryPath}.`);
  try {
    const stat = await fs.lstat(filePath);
    if (!stat.isFile() || stat.isSymbolicLink() || stat.nlink > 1) throw new Error(`Refusing to replace unsafe service definition ${filePath}.`);
    if (currentUid !== undefined && stat.uid !== currentUid) throw new Error(`Refusing to replace service definition not owned by the current user: ${filePath}.`);
    if (await fs.readFile(filePath, "utf8") === contents) return false;
  } catch (error) {
    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
  }
  const temporaryPath = path.join(directoryPath, `.${path.basename(filePath)}.tmp-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`);
  try {
    await fs.writeFile(temporaryPath, contents, { encoding: "utf8", mode: 0o644, flag: "wx" });
    await fs.rename(temporaryPath, filePath);
  } finally {
    await fs.rm(temporaryPath, { force: true });
  }
  return true;
}

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