sxyazi/yazi · critical

Failed to get config directory

Error message

Failed to get config directory

What it means

This is a panic (via .expect), not a returned error: on Windows, load_config_dir calls dirs::config_dir() and expects it to succeed with message 'Failed to get config directory'. dirs::config_dir() returns None when the %APPDATA% (CSIDL_APPDATA / FOLDERID_RoamingAppData) folder cannot be resolved, which is abnormal on Windows but possible in broken profiles or service contexts.

Solutions

1. Ensure the process runs under a real interactive user account with a valid profile
2. Set/repair the APPDATA environment variable (e.g. APPDATA=C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming)
3. Restore the Roaming known folder registration or provide an explicit config dir override

Example fix

// before
dirs::config_dir().map(|p| p.join("yazi\\config")).expect("Failed to get config directory")
// after
dirs::config_dir().map(|p| p.join("yazi\\config"))
    .or_else(|| env::var_os("APPDATA").map(PathBuf::from).map(|p| p.join("yazi\\config")))
    .unwrap_or_else(|| panic!("Failed to get config directory"))

#[cfg(windows)]
let has_config_dir = std::env::var_os("APPDATA").is_some()
    || dirs::config_dir().is_some();
if !has_config_dir { eprintln!("APPDATA unresolvable; set APPDATA before launching"); }

fn windows_config_dir() -> Option<PathBuf> {
    dirs::config_dir().map(|p| p.join("yazi\\config"))
        .or_else(|| std::env::var_os("APPDATA").map(PathBuf::from))
}

// expect() panics rather than returning Err, so pre-check:
match dirs::config_dir() {
    Some(p) => p.join("yazi\\config"),
    None => { eprintln!("Failed to get config directory"); std::process::exit(1); }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any call to Xdg::config_dir()/load_config_dir on a Windows system where dirs::config_dir() returns None — e.g., corrupted user profile, missing APPDATA environment/known-folder registration, or running from a service account without a user profile.

Common situations: Running yazi as a Windows service or under an account with no roaming profile; a broken APPDATA known-folder entry; minimal/containerized Windows environments.

Related errors

• Failed to get asset directory
• Failed to get cache directory
• Failed to get state directory
• Unwinding must be enabled for Windows. Please use `cargo…
• at least one of `url` or `mime` must be specified

AI-assisted analysis of sxyazi/yazi@a541adde4e (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/34dbf6e81db14aa0. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at yazi-fs/src/xdg.rs:30

		Self::runtime_dir();
		Self::temp_dir();
	}

	pub fn config_dir() -> &'static PathBuf {
		static DIR: LazyLock<PathBuf> = LazyLock::new(Xdg::load_config_dir);
		&DIR
	}

	fn load_config_dir() -> PathBuf {
		if let Some(p) = env::var_os("YAZI_CONFIG_HOME").map(PathBuf::from)
			&& p.is_absolute()
		{
			return p;
		}

		#[cfg(windows)]
		{
			dirs::config_dir().map(|p| p.join("yazi\\config")).expect("Failed to get config directory")
		}
		#[cfg(unix)]
		{
			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 asset_dir() -> &'static PathBuf {
		static DIR: LazyLock<PathBuf> = LazyLock::new(Xdg::load_asset_dir);
		&DIR
	}

	fn load_asset_dir() -> PathBuf {

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