usebruno/bruno · warning · Error

folder: ${collectionPath} already exists

Error message

folder: ${collectionPath} already exists

What it means

Thrown by 'renderer:clone-folder' when fs.existsSync(collectionPath) is true. The clone handler creates a new folder at collectionPath and refuses to overwrite an existing one.

Source

Thrown at packages/bruno-electron/src/ipc/collection.js:1549

          failed: failedImports
        }
      });
    }

    return {
      success: {
        count: completedImports,
        items: successfulImports
      }
    };
  });

  ipcMain.handle('renderer:clone-folder', async (event, itemFolder, collectionPath, collectionPathname) => {
    try {
      validatePathIsInsideCollection(collectionPath);

      if (fs.existsSync(collectionPath)) {
        throw new Error(`folder: ${collectionPath} already exists`);
      }

      const format = getCollectionFormat(collectionPathname);

      // Recursive function to parse the folder and create files/folders
      const parseCollectionItems = (items = [], currentPath) => {
        items.forEach(async (item) => {
          if (['http-request', 'graphql-request', 'grpc-request'].includes(item.type)) {
            const content = await stringifyRequestViaWorker(item, { format });

            // Use the correct file extension based on target format
            const baseName = path.parse(item.filename).name;
            const newFilename = format === 'yml' ? `${baseName}.yml` : `${baseName}.bru`;
            const filePath = path.join(currentPath, newFilename);

            safeWriteFileSync(filePath, content);
          }
          if (item.type === 'folder') {

View on GitHub (pinned to 9bdd81c7bd)

Solutions

1. Generate a unique target name (e.g. 'folder-copy', 'folder-copy-2') before invoking clone.
2. If the existing folder is a leftover from a failed clone, remove it or let the user choose a different destination.
3. Surface the conflict and prompt for overwrite/rename/cancel.

Example fix

// before
await window.Ipc.invoke('renderer:clone-folder', itemFolder, targetPath, collectionPathname);

// after
let target = targetPath; let i = 1;
while (fs.existsSync(target)) target = `${targetPath}-copy-${i++}`;
await window.Ipc.invoke('renderer:clone-folder', itemFolder, target, collectionPathname);

let target = collectionPath; let i = 1;
while (await window.ipc.invoke('main:path-exists', target)) target = `${collectionPath}-copy-${i++}`;
await window.Ipc.invoke('renderer:clone-folder', itemFolder, target, collectionPathname);

async function targetIsClear(p: string): Promise<boolean> {
  return !(await window.ipc.invoke('main:path-exists', p));
}

try {
  await window.Ipc.invoke('renderer:clone-folder', itemFolder, collectionPath, collectionPathname);
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e?.message).includes('already exists')) {
    const uniq = `${collectionPath}-copy-${Date.now()}`;
    await window.Ipc.invoke('renderer:clone-folder', itemFolder, uniq, collectionPathname);
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Cloning a folder into a destination where a folder of the same name already exists, or re-running a clone after a partial/interrupted earlier attempt that left the directory behind.

Common situations: Duplicate clone action, target name not uniquified, or a previous failed clone left a partial directory on disk.

Related errors

• path: ${newPath} already exists
• path: ${filePath} already exists
• ${request.filename} is not a valid filename
• A file with the name "${finalFilename}" already exists in th
• environment: ${newEnvFilePath} already exists

AI-assisted analysis of usebruno/bruno@9bdd81c7bd (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1d9ce9872d507854. Report an issue: GitHub.