usebruno/bruno · error · Error

collection: ${dirPath} already exists and is not empty

Error message

collection: ${dirPath} already exists and is not empty

What it means

Error "collection: ${dirPath} already exists and is not empty" thrown in usebruno/bruno.

Source

Thrown at packages/bruno-electron/src/ipc/collection.js:204

  }

  return envFilePath;
};

const registerRendererEventHandlers = (mainWindow, watcher) => {
  // create collection
  ipcMain.handle(
    'renderer:create-collection',
    async (event, collectionName, collectionFolderName, collectionLocation, options = {}) => {
      try {
        const format = options.format || DEFAULT_COLLECTION_FORMAT;
        collectionFolderName = sanitizeName(collectionFolderName);
        const dirPath = path.join(collectionLocation, collectionFolderName);
        if (fs.existsSync(dirPath)) {
          const files = fs.readdirSync(dirPath);

          if (files.length > 0) {
            throw new Error(`collection: ${dirPath} already exists and is not empty`);
          }
        }

        if (!validateName(path.basename(dirPath))) {
          throw new Error(`collection: invalid pathname - ${dirPath}`);
        }

        if (!fs.existsSync(dirPath)) {
          await createDirectory(dirPath);
        }

        const uid = generateUidBasedOnHash(dirPath);
        let brunoConfig = {
          version: '1',
          name: collectionName,
          type: 'collection',
          ignore: ['node_modules', '.git']
        };

View on GitHub (pinned to 9bdd81c7bd)

Solutions

1. Choose an empty or new directory for the collection.
2. Empty the target directory if it is safe to do so.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/bruno-electron/src/ipc/collection.js:204 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of usebruno/bruno@9bdd81c7bd (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b828d83b11c50880. Report an issue: GitHub.