thedotmack/claude-mem · warning

[uninstall] Could not read ${filePath}:

Error message

[uninstall] Could not read ${filePath}:

What it means

Uninstall scans shell rc files (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, and the PowerShell profile) for legacy `alias claude-mem =` lines. If readFileSync fails on one candidate file, it warns and skips to the next file, so that file keeps its claude-mem alias after uninstall.

Source

Thrown at src/npx-cli/commands/uninstall.ts:117

}

function stripLegacyClaudeMemAlias(): void {
  const home = homedir();
  const candidateFiles = [
    join(home, '.bashrc'),
    join(home, '.zshrc'),
    join(home, 'Documents', 'PowerShell', 'Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1'),
  ];

  const aliasLineRegex = /^\s*alias\s+claude-mem\s*=/;

  for (const filePath of candidateFiles) {
    if (!existsSync(filePath)) continue;
    let content: string;
    try {
      content = readFileSync(filePath, 'utf-8');
    } catch (error: unknown) {
      console.warn(`[uninstall] Could not read ${filePath}:`, error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
      continue;
    }
    const lines = content.split('\n');
    const filtered = lines.filter((line) => !aliasLineRegex.test(line));
    if (filtered.length === lines.length) continue; 
    try {
      writeFileSync(filePath, filtered.join('\n'));
      console.error(`Removed legacy claude-mem alias from ${filePath}`);
    } catch (error: unknown) {
      console.warn(`[uninstall] Could not rewrite ${filePath}:`, error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
    }
  }
}

export function removeFromClaudeSettings(): void {
  const settings = readJsonSafe<Record<string, any>>(claudeSettingsPath(), {});
  let dirty = false;

View on GitHub (pinned to e2d1df569a)

Solutions

1. Check the file named in the message: ls -l <filePath>
2. Fix it: sudo chown $(whoami) <filePath> && chmod u+rw <filePath>
3. Re-run `npx claude-mem uninstall`, or delete the `alias claude-mem =` line yourself

import { accessSync, constants } from 'node:fs';
for (const rc of [`${process.env.HOME}/.bashrc`, `${process.env.HOME}/.zshrc`]) {
  try { accessSync(rc, constants.R_OK); }
  catch { /* fix perms before uninstall or the alias removal will skip this file */ }
}

function isErrnoException(error: unknown): error is NodeJS.ErrnoException {
  return error instanceof Error && typeof (error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === 'string';
}

When it happens

Trigger: `npx claude-mem uninstall` when an rc file exists but cannot be read: root-owned after a sudo edit, mode 000 or owned by another user, a dangling symlink, or an I/O error from a failing disk.

Common situations: Dotfiles managed by root or another account; rc files symlinked into a private dotfiles repo with restrictive permissions; managed corporate machines.

Related errors

• [uninstall] Could not rewrite ${filePath}:
• [uninstall] Could not write settings during server runtime c
• [uninstall] Could not read ${npxRoot}:
• [uninstall] Could not read ${cacheRoot}:
• [uninstall] Could not read ${projectPath}:

AI-assisted analysis of thedotmack/claude-mem@e2d1df569a (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9b50f6275d0d554e. Report an issue: GitHub.