thedotmack/claude-mem · info

[ide-detection] Failed to read VS Code extensions directory:

Error message

[ide-detection] Failed to read VS Code extensions directory:

What it means

A console.warn from the installer's IDE detection: readdirSync on ~/.vscode/extensions threw (typically EACCES/EPERM) after the directory was confirmed to exist. The function returns false for that check, so VS Code / VS Code-based IDEs are reported as not detected and the installer's pre-selection lists fewer IDEs. Detection of command-line IDEs is unaffected.

Source

Thrown at src/npx-cli/commands/ide-detection.ts:40

      execFileSync('which', [command], { stdio: 'ignore' });
    }
    return true;
  } catch (error: unknown) {
    if (process.env.DEBUG) {
      console.error(`[ide-detection] ${command} not in PATH:`, error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
    }
    return false;
  }
}

function hasVscodeExtension(extensionNameFragment: string): boolean {
  const extensionsDirectory = join(homedir(), '.vscode', 'extensions');
  if (!existsSync(extensionsDirectory)) return false;
  try {
    const entries = readdirSync(extensionsDirectory);
    return entries.some((entry) => entry.toLowerCase().includes(extensionNameFragment.toLowerCase()));
  } catch (error: unknown) {
    console.warn('[ide-detection] Failed to read VS Code extensions directory:', error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
    return false;
  }
}

export function detectInstalledIDEs(): IDEInfo[] {
  const home = homedir();

  return [
    {
      id: 'claude-code',
      label: 'Claude Code',
      detected: isCommandInPath('claude'),
      hint: 'recommended',
    },
    {
      id: 'opencode',
      label: 'OpenCode',
      detected:

View on GitHub (pinned to e2d1df569a)

Solutions

1. Fix ownership/permissions: sudo chown -R $USER ~/.vscode && chmod -R u+rX ~/.vscode
2. Then simply select the IDE manually on the installer prompt — detection failing only affects auto-selection
3. Check with ls ~/.vscode/extensions in the same shell to confirm the read now succeeds

Example fix

# before
$ ls ~/.vscode/extensions
ls: cannot open directory: Permission denied

# after
$ sudo chown -R $USER ~/.vscode && chmod -R u+rX ~/.vscode
$ npx claude-mem install  # VS Code now auto-detected

import { accessSync, constants } from 'node:fs';
function extensionsReadable(dir: string): boolean {
  try { accessSync(dir, constants.R_OK); return true; } catch { return false; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `npx claude-mem install` where ~/.vscode/extensions exists but is unreadable — restrictive home-dir permissions, root-owned directory from a past sudo run, or SELinux/AppArmor denying reads.

Common situations: Running the installer under sudo so later runs as the normal user lack read access; managed/locked-down corporate machines; NAS-mounted home directories with odd ACL semantics.

Related errors

• Could not read ${configFile}: ${error instanceof Error ? err
• Could not update ${configFile}: ${error instanceof Error ? e
• installPluginDependencies: no package.json at ${targetDir}
• Corrupt JSON in ${GEMINI_SETTINGS_PATH}, refusing to overwri
• MCP server script not found

AI-assisted analysis of thedotmack/claude-mem@e2d1df569a (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/60ba046820cd353c. Report an issue: GitHub.