tinyhumansai/openhuman · error

Failed to atomically write {file}: {e}

Error message

Failed to atomically write {file}: {e}

What it means

The final rename of the staged temp file over the target failed with the OS error {e}, breaking the atomic replace. The temp file was written successfully but the swap did not happen; the target still holds its previous (complete) contents.

Source

Thrown at src/openhuman/tools/impl/filesystem/update_memory_md.rs:128

    tracing::debug!(
        tmp = %tmp_path.display(),
        target = %path.display(),
        bytes = content.len(),
        "[update_memory_md] atomic write: staging temp file"
    );

    if let Err(e) = tokio::fs::write(&tmp_path, content).await {
        // Clean up a partially-written temp file so a failed stage doesn't
        // litter the workspace (CodeRabbit: temp not cleaned on initial write).
        let _ = tokio::fs::remove_file(&tmp_path).await;
        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to stage temp file for {file}: {e}"));
    }

    if let Err(e) = tokio::fs::rename(&tmp_path, path).await {
        // Best-effort cleanup so a failed rename doesn't litter the workspace.
        let _ = tokio::fs::remove_file(&tmp_path).await;
        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to atomically write {file}: {e}"));
    }

    tracing::debug!(
        target = %path.display(),
        "[update_memory_md] atomic write: rename committed"
    );
    Ok(())
}

/// Appends or replaces a named section in MEMORY.md or SKILL.md.
///
/// Supports two actions:
/// - `append`: adds `content` to the end of the file.
/// - `replace_section`: locates the first `## {section_title}` heading and
///   replaces the body (lines until the next `##` heading or EOF) with `content`.
pub struct UpdateMemoryMdTool {
    workspace_dir: PathBuf,
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 7491200858)

Solutions

1. Read {e}: cross-device errors mean the temp file left the target's filesystem
2. Check permissions on the target file/directory
3. Retry after resolving; leftover .tmp siblings are safe to remove

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at src/openhuman/tools/impl/filesystem/update_memory_md.rs:128 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of tinyhumansai/openhuman@7491200858 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/076dcb26f3a85117. Report an issue: GitHub.