siyuan-note/siyuan · error

199

199

Error message

This is not a valid .sy.zip archive. If the archive was exported from [Settings], please import it from [Settings]

What it means

Returned by importSY (import.go:198) as Conf.Language(199) = "This is not a valid .sy.zip archive. If the archive was exported from [Settings], please import it from [Settings]". Fires when the unzipped directory does not contain exactly one top-level directory entry or contains zero .sy files. The kernel expects a single root folder holding the .sy tree; anything else (flat zip, multi-root, empty zip) is rejected as malformed.

Source

Thrown at kernel/model/import.go:198

			return err
		}
		if d == nil {
			return nil
		}
		if !d.IsDir() && strings.HasSuffix(d.Name(), ".sy") {
			syPaths = append(syPaths, path)
		}
		return nil
	})

	entries, err := os.ReadDir(unzipPath)
	if err != nil {
		logging.LogErrorf("read unzip dir [%s] failed: %s", unzipPath, err)
		return
	}
	if 1 != len(entries) || !entries[0].IsDir() || len(syPaths) < 1 {
		logging.LogErrorf("invalid .sy.zip [%v]", entries)
		err = errors.New(Conf.Language(199))
		return
	}
	unzipRootPath := filepath.Join(unzipPath, entries[0].Name())
	name := filepath.Base(unzipRootPath)
	if strings.HasPrefix(name, "data-20") && len("data-20230321175442") == len(name) {
		logging.LogErrorf("invalid .sy.zip [unzipRootPath=%s, baseName=%s]", unzipRootPath, name)
		err = errors.New(Conf.Language(199))
		return
	}
	var importedBoxConf *conf.BoxConf
	importedConfPath := filepath.Join(unzipRootPath, ".siyuan", "conf.json")
	hasImportedBoxConf := filelock.IsExist(importedConfPath)
	var importedMetadataErr error
	if hasImportedBoxConf {
		confData, readErr := filelock.ReadFile(importedConfPath)
		if readErr == nil {
			importedBoxConf = conf.NewBoxConf()
			if unmarshalErr := gulu.JSON.UnmarshalJSON(confData, importedBoxConf); unmarshalErr != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to 251596fc0d)

Solutions

1. Re-export the notebook/document from SiYuan and import the untouched .sy.zip.
2. If the user exported full data from Settings, import it from Settings - Export - Import Data, not the notebook import dialog.
3. Inspect the zip's top-level layout: it must be exactly one directory containing .sy files.

// Inspect the zip before importing: it must contain exactly one top-level dir holding .sy files.
entries, _ := zip.OpenReader(zipPath)
defer entries.Close()
topDirs := 0; hasSy := false
for _, f := range entries.File {
    seg := strings.Split(strings.TrimPrefix(f.Name, "/"), "/")[0]
    if seg != "" { topDirs = 1 }
    if strings.HasSuffix(f.Name, ".sy") { hasSy = true }
}
if topDirs != 1 || !hasSy { return errors.New(Conf.Language(199)) }

err := model.ImportSY(zipPath, boxID, toPath)
if err != nil && err.Error() == Conf.Language(199) {
    // tell user the archive is not a valid .sy.zip; re-export or use Settings import
}

When it happens

Trigger: POST /api/import/importSY, importSYNotebook, or importSYAuto with a zip that is not a SiYuan .sy.zip export: a generic zip, a re-zipped folder whose structure was flattened, an empty archive, or a Data export mistaken for a notebook/doc export.

Common situations: User re-compressed the export with a different tool that changed the layout; user exported from Settings - Export - Data and tries to import via the notebook import dialog (wrong direction); corrupted download.

Related errors

• invalid import token
• no file found
• import path is not sub path of import dir
• --file is required
• --notebook is required

AI-assisted analysis of siyuan-note/siyuan@251596fc0d (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6b33c253b6d98879. Report an issue: GitHub.