sxyazi/yazi · error

Failed to join new name with CWD

Error message

Failed to join new name with CWD

What it means

When creating a new file/directory, the manager takes the typed name and joins it with the current working directory via `cwd.try_join(&name)`. If the join fails (e.g. the name is not a valid relative path tail for the URL), the creation bails with this message, meaning the requested name cannot form a valid child URL of the CWD.

Solutions

1. Enter a single path component (no leading `/`, no `..`) in the create prompt.
2. Create the item inside a normal local directory rather than a virtual/special location.
3. Sanitize or normalize the name before passing it to the create API if calling programmatically.

Example fix

// before (create prompt input)
/subdir/newfile.txt

// after
newfile.txt

local function is_valid_name(name)
  return name ~= nil and #name > 0 and not name:find("[/\\]") and name ~= "." and name ~= ".."
end

local function is_single_component(name)
  return type(name) == "string" and not name:match("[/\\]") and name ~= "." and name ~= ".."
end

local ok, err = pcall(function() Command("create"):arg({ "--", name }):send() end)
if not ok then ya.notify({ title = "create failed", content = err, level = "error" }) end

When it happens

Trigger: Running the `create` command with a name that fails `try_join` against the CWD URL — e.g. a name containing path separators, `..`, or characters that are invalid as a single path component, or creating in a URL whose scheme cannot host the name.

Common situations: Typing a full path or slashes into the create prompt when only a component is allowed; creating inside a virtual/archive/remote location that doesn't support joining; weird characters in the name.

Related errors

• InvalidInput
• Missing filename
• atime not available
• btime not available
• Cannot create file at root

AI-assisted analysis of sxyazi/yazi@a541adde4e (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c166b1aa07fa6d37. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at yazi-actor/src/mgr/create.rs:40

	fn act(cx: &mut Ctx, CreateForm { target, dir, force }: Self::Form) -> Result<Data> {
		let cwd = cx.cwd().to_owned();

		let mut target: Pin<Box<dyn Stream<Item = StrandBuf> + Send>> = if target.is_empty() {
			let input = input!(cx, YAZI.input.create(dir))?;
			Box::pin(UnboundedReceiverStream::new(input).filter_map(|event| event.map(Into::into)))
		} else {
			Box::pin(tokio_stream::iter(vec![target]))
		};

		tokio::spawn(async move {
			let Some(name) = target.next().await else { return Ok(()) };
			if name.is_empty() {
				return Ok(());
			}

			let Ok(new) = cwd.try_join(&name) else {
				bail!("Failed to join new name with CWD");
			};

			if !force
				&& let Some(file) = File::maybe_new(&new).await?
				&& !ConfirmProxy::show(ConfirmCfg::overwrite(&file)).await
			{
				return Ok(());
			}

			let end_sep = AnyAsciiChar::SEP.predicate(*name.encoded_bytes().last().unwrap());
			Self::r#do(new, dir || end_sep).await
		});
		succ!();
	}
}

impl Create {
	async fn r#do(new: UrlBuf, dir: bool) -> Result<()> {

View on GitHub (pinned to a541adde4e)