tauri-apps/tauri · error

unable to autogenerate

Error message

unable to autogenerate {out_path:?}

What it means

autogenerate_command_permissions writes a default `<command>.toml` permissions file for each ACL command during the Tauri build script. If write_if_changed fails (unwritable directory, permission issue, out_path being a directory), it panics with `unable to autogenerate {out_path:?}`, halting the build script.

Solutions

1. Ensure the permissions directory exists and is writable (chown/chmod the src-tauri tree)
2. Delete a stray directory (or locked file) at the reported out_path
3. Avoid sudo cargo builds that leave root-owned files; `sudo chown -R $USER src-tauri`
4. Build outside read-only mounts or copy the repo to a writable location

Example fix

// before
sudo cargo tauri build   # leaves root-owned permissions dir
// after
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER src-tauri/permissions && cargo tauri build

import os, sys, pwd
p = 'src-tauri/permissions'
if not os.access(p, os.W_OK) and not os.access(os.path.dirname(p) or '.', os.W_OK):
    sys.exit(f'cannot write ACL permissions into {p}')
if os.path.isdir(os.path.join(p, 'allow-command.toml')):
    sys.exit('toml path collides with a directory')

When it happens

Trigger: Running cargo build where the ACL permissions target directory (e.g. src-tauri/permissions/<plugin>/ orgen dir) cannot be written: read-only checkout, file locked by another process, or a directory already existing at the .toml path.

Common situations: Building in a read-only container/CI checkout; the target file is checked out read-only or owned by root after sudo builds; a path collision where `<command>.toml` is a directory; antivirus locking the file on Windows.

Understand the failure class

Background: "failed to write file", "Could not save figure", "Error saving remote file" — file write failed: causes and fixes across languages and libraries — this error's family across 38 libraries.

Related errors

• failed to generate plugin documentation page
• failed to create core:default permissions directory
• failed to create plugin documentation directory
• failed to resolve ACL
• failed to write checked_features file

AI-assisted analysis of tauri-apps/tauri@460ec35447 (2026-09-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c46a453c4056ee8a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/tauri-utils/src/acl/build.rs:309

    let toml = format!(
      r###"{license_header}# Automatically generated - DO NOT EDIT!
{schema_entry}
[[permission]]
identifier = "allow-{slugified_command}"
description = "Enables the {command} command without any pre-configured scope."
commands.allow = ["{command}"]

[[permission]]
identifier = "deny-{slugified_command}"
description = "Denies the {command} command without any pre-configured scope."
commands.deny = ["{command}"]
"###,
    );

    let out_path = path.join(format!("{command}.toml"));
    write_if_changed(&out_path, toml)
      .unwrap_or_else(|_| panic!("unable to autogenerate {out_path:?}"));

    autogenerated
      .allowed
      .push(format!("allow-{slugified_command}"));
    autogenerated
      .denied
      .push(format!("deny-{slugified_command}"));
  }

  autogenerated
}

const PERMISSION_TABLE_HEADER: &str =
  "## Permission Table\n\n<table>\n<tr>\n<th>Identifier</th>\n<th>Description</th>\n</tr>\n";

/// Generate a markdown documentation page containing the list of permissions of the plugin.
pub fn generate_docs(
  permissions: &[PermissionFile],

View on GitHub (pinned to 460ec35447)