sxyazi/yazi · critical

Failed to get cache directory

Error message

Failed to get cache directory

What it means

Windows branch of Xdg::load_cache_dir: panics via expect when dirs::cache_dir() — the LocalAppData root (%LOCALAPPDATA%) — returns None, so "yazi" cannot be joined onto it. Cached previews, plugin state, and stamps all live under this directory; it is resolved once per process at startup.

Source

Thrown at yazi-fs/src/xdg.rs:51

		{
			env::var_os("XDG_CONFIG_HOME")
				.map(PathBuf::from)
				.filter(|p| p.is_absolute())
				.map(|p| p.join("yazi"))
				.or_else(|| dirs::home_dir().map(|h| h.join(".config/yazi")))
				.expect("Failed to get config directory")
		}
	}

	pub fn cache_dir() -> &'static PathBuf {
		static ONCE: OnceLock<PathBuf> = OnceLock::new();
		ONCE.get_or_init(Self::load_cache_dir)
	}

	fn load_cache_dir() -> PathBuf {
		#[cfg(windows)]
		{
			dirs::cache_dir().map(|p| p.join("yazi")).expect("Failed to get cache directory")
		}
		#[cfg(unix)]
		{
			env::var_os("XDG_CACHE_HOME")
				.map(PathBuf::from)
				.filter(|p| p.is_absolute())
				.map(|p| p.join("yazi"))
				.or_else(|| dirs::home_dir().map(|h| h.join(".cache/yazi")))
				.expect("Failed to get cache directory")
		}
	}

	pub fn state_dir() -> &'static PathBuf {
		static ONCE: OnceLock<PathBuf> = OnceLock::new();
		ONCE.get_or_init(Self::load_state_dir)
	}

	fn load_state_dir() -> PathBuf {

View on GitHub (pinned to 94abcfa92f)

Solutions

1. Restore LOCALAPPDATA to a valid absolute path for the account that runs yazi
2. Run under a normal interactive user profile instead of SYSTEM/service accounts
3. Wrap service launches in a script that sets LOCALAPPDATA explicitly
4. Verify with `echo %LOCALAPPDATA%` in the same context that launches the binary

Example fix

REM before: LOCALAPPDATA unset -> panic "Failed to get cache directory"
set LOCALAPPDATA=C:\Users\me\AppData\Local
yazi.exe

#[cfg(windows)]
fn cache_dir_ok() -> bool {
    std::env::var_os("LOCALAPPDATA").is_some_and(|v| std::path::Path::new(&v).is_absolute())
}

When it happens

Trigger: First call to Xdg::cache_dir() on Windows with LOCALAPPDATA unset or unresolvable: service/SYSTEM contexts, stripped CI environments, or profiles where the local app-data root is disabled.

Common situations: Scheduled tasks and services running without a user profile; Windows CI runners that clear LOCALAPPDATA; portable/locked-down machines with redirected profiles.

Related errors

• Failed to get config directory
• Failed to get state directory
• failed to get current working directory
• Time went backwards
• failed to spawn chafa: {e}

AI-assisted analysis of sxyazi/yazi@94abcfa92f (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/66ef682f6cc39cb6. Report an issue: GitHub.