wasmerio/wasmer · error

{e}

Error message

{e}

What it means

In `wasmer init`'s `target_file`, when a target directory `Some(s)` is provided, `std::fs::create_dir_all(s)` creates it. The raw OS error is mapped with `anyhow::anyhow!("{e}")` and then wrapped with context of the directory path, so this bare `{e}` message is the underlying mkdir failure (e.g. permission denied) displayed alongside the directory context.

Source

Thrown at lib/cli/src/commands/init.rs:218

            None => {
                let current_dir = std::env::current_dir()?;
                let package_name = self
                    .package_name
                    .clone()
                    .or_else(|| {
                        current_dir
                            .canonicalize()
                            .ok()?
                            .file_stem()
                            .and_then(|s| s.to_str())
                            .map(|s| s.to_string())
                    })
                    .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("no current dir name"))?;
                Ok((package_name, current_dir.join(WASMER_TOML_NAME)))
            }
            Some(s) => {
                std::fs::create_dir_all(s)
                    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("{e}"))
                    .with_context(|| anyhow::anyhow!("{}", s.display()))?;
                let package_name = self
                    .package_name
                    .clone()
                    .or_else(|| {
                        s.canonicalize()
                            .ok()?
                            .file_stem()
                            .and_then(|s| s.to_str())
                            .map(|s| s.to_string())
                    })
                    .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("no dir name"))?;
                Ok((package_name, s.join(WASMER_TOML_NAME)))
            }
        }
    }

    fn get_filesystem_mapping(include: &[String]) -> impl Iterator<Item = (String, PathBuf)> + '_ {

View on GitHub (pinned to 8c4b9ee9d3)

Solutions

1. Check permissions on the target's parent and `chmod`/`chown` or choose a writable directory.
2. Verify no existing file conflicts with the target path (`ls -la <path>`) and remove/rename it.
3. Run with elevated privileges only if appropriate, or init into a user-writable directory instead.
4. If the filesystem is read-only, select a writable mount or remount read-write.

Example fix

// before
wasmer init /root/myapp  // Permission denied (os error 13)
// after
wasmer init ~/projects/myapp

fn can_create_dir(target: &Path) -> bool {
    if target.is_dir() {
        return true;
    }
    target.parent()
        .map(|p| p.is_dir() && std::fs::metadata(p)
            .map(|m| !m.permissions().readonly())
            .unwrap_or(false))
        .unwrap_or(false)
}
assert!(can_create_dir(Path::new("~/projects/myapp")), "target dir not creatable");

match init_in(dir).await {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("os error 13") || e.to_string().contains("Permission denied") => {
        eprintln!("Cannot create {dir:?}: check permissions or pick a writable path");
    }
    other => other?,
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `wasmer init <dir>` where creating `<dir>` (and any missing parents) fails: permission denied on the parent, the path exists as a non-directory file, the filesystem is read-only, or a path component is invalid.

Common situations: Initializing into a root-owned or read-only location; passing a path where an existing file occupies a component; typo'd absolute paths; containers with restricted write mounts.

Understand the failure class

Background: mkdir permission denied (EACCES): failed to create directory errors explained — this error's family across 32 libraries.

Related errors

• no current dir name
• {}
• no dir name
• Stopping as the directory is not empty
• Cannot pre-open the current directory twice: '--volume=.' mu

AI-assisted analysis of wasmerio/wasmer@8c4b9ee9d3 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1e7549c52a0025bf. Report an issue: GitHub.