spacedriveapp/spacedrive · error · anyhow::Error

Failed to open bidirectional stream: {}

Error message

Failed to open bidirectional stream: {}

What it means

After connecting, execute_pull opens a bidirectional iroh stream (open_bi) to exchange the PullRequest and file data (strategy.rs:500-503). Failure means the connection dropped or the peer refused the stream: the remote closed the connection, its file-transfer handler is not accepting streams on this ALPN (version mismatch), or the peer shut down between connect and open.

Source

Thrown at core/src/ops/files/copy/strategy.rs:503

			.endpoint()
			.ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Networking endpoint not available"))?;

		ctx.log(format!(
			"Opening PULL connection to node {} (device {})",
			node_id, source_device_id
		));

		// Connect to remote device
		let node_addr = iroh::EndpointAddr::new(node_id);
		let connection = endpoint
			.connect(node_addr, b"spacedrive/filetransfer/1")
			.await
			.map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to connect to device: {}", e))?;

		let (mut send_stream, mut recv_stream) = connection
			.open_bi()
			.await
			.map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to open bidirectional stream: {}", e))?;

		// Send PullRequest
		let transfer_id = uuid::Uuid::new_v4();
		let current_device_id = crate::device::get_current_device_id();
		// Normalize path separators to forward slashes for cross-platform transmission.
		// The receiving device may use a different OS separator (Windows \ vs Unix /).
		let normalized_source_path =
			PathBuf::from(source_path.to_string_lossy().replace('\\', "/"));
		let pull_request =
			crate::service::network::protocol::file_transfer::FileTransferMessage::PullRequest {
				transfer_id,
				source_path: normalized_source_path,
				requested_by: current_device_id,
			};

		let request_data = rmp_serde::to_vec(&pull_request)?;

		ctx.log(format!(

View on GitHub (pinned to 6dfeccf211)

Solutions

1. Retry the pull after a short delay — transient stream resets usually clear
2. Verify the remote daemon runs a version with the filetransfer ALPN stream handler
3. Reduce concurrent cross-device jobs against the same peer
4. Check the remote daemon's logs for stream accept errors at the failure time

match connection.open_bi().await {
    Ok(pair) => pair,
    Err(e) => {
        tracing::warn!(%e, "open_bi failed; reconnecting once");
        let connection = endpoint.connect(node_addr, b"spacedrive/filetransfer/1").await?;
        connection.open_bi().await?
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Peer closes the connection immediately after accepting it; remote daemon version lacks the filetransfer stream handler; connection reset mid-handshake; peer at its concurrent stream limit.

Common situations: Rolling upgrades where one side can connect but not serve the protocol; peer overloaded by parallel transfers; flaky links resetting streams.

Related errors

• Failed to connect to device: {}
• Source must be a physical path for PULL operation
• Destination must be local path for PULL operation
• Could not resolve source device slug '{}' to UUID in library
• Could not find node_id for device {} (slug: {}). Device may

AI-assisted analysis of spacedriveapp/spacedrive@6dfeccf211 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5447ee13ef03409d. Report an issue: GitHub.