tauri-apps/tauri · error · Error::GenericError

permission file not found, please build your application…

Error message

permission file not found, please build your application once first

What it means

`tauri permission ls` reads the ACL manifest snapshot at `src-tauri/gen/schemas/acl-manifests.json`, which the Tauri build script generates when the app compiles. If that file does not exist, the CLI has no permission data to list and tells you to build once first.

Solutions

Run `tauri dev` or `tauri build` once so the build script emits `gen/schemas/acl-manifests.json`, then rerun `tauri permission ls`
If a build was already done, verify `src-tauri/gen/schemas/acl-manifests.json` exists and you are running the command from the project root/src-tauri so paths resolve
In CI, add a compile step (e.g. `cargo build` in src-tauri) before any `tauri permission ls` step

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# ensure the generated ACL manifest exists before listing permissions
MANIFEST=src-tauri/gen/schemas/acl-manifests.json
[ -f "$MANIFEST" ] || cargo tauri build --debug >/dev/null   # or `tauri dev` once
tauri permission ls

Prevention

Compile once (`tauri dev` or `tauri build`) in onboarding steps before permission inspection
Do not gitignore-then-delete `src-tauri/gen/` if your workflow lists permissions; treat it as build output to regenerate, not preserve
In CI, run a cargo build step before `tauri permission ls`

When it happens

Trigger: Running `tauri permission ls` in a freshly cloned or freshly scaffolded project that has never been compiled with `tauri dev`/`tauri build`; or after deleting/ignoring the `gen/schemas` output directory.

Common situations: New contributors cloning a repo where `src-tauri/gen` is gitignored (it is generated output); inspecting permissions before the first build; CI pipelines that try to audit permissions without a prior compile step.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of tauri-apps/tauri@52e4b6e71d (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3c042ecb5b231ac5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/tauri-cli/src/acl/permission/ls.rs:156

                  .deny
                  .iter()
                  .map(|c| c.red().to_string())
                  .collect::<Vec<_>>()
                  .join(", ")
              )
            },
          ));
        }
      }

      if !permissions.is_empty() {
        println!("{}\n", permissions.join("\n\n"));
      }
    }

    Ok(())
  } else {
    crate::error::bail!("permission file not found, please build your application once first")
  }
}

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