wavetermdev/waveterm · error

cannot open dir %q: %w

Error message

cannot open dir %q: %w

What it means

RemoteListEntriesCommand failed to read the target directory with os.ReadDir for non-recursive listings. The error is wrapped with the directory path, so the cause (not-found, permission denied, not-a-directory) comes from the OS.

Source

Thrown at pkg/wshrpc/wshremote/wshremote_file.go:250

				if seen < data.Opts.Offset {
					return nil
				}
				if seen >= data.Opts.Offset+data.Opts.Limit {
					return io.EOF
				}
				if err != nil {
					return err
				}
				if d.IsDir() {
					return nil
				}
				innerFilesEntries = append(innerFilesEntries, d)
				return nil
			})
		} else {
			innerFilesEntries, err = os.ReadDir(path)
			if err != nil {
				ch <- wshutil.RespErr[wshrpc.CommandRemoteListEntriesRtnData](fmt.Errorf("cannot open dir %q: %w", path, err))
				return
			}
		}
		var fileInfoArr []*wshrpc.FileInfo
		for _, innerFileEntry := range innerFilesEntries {
			if ctx.Err() != nil {
				ch <- wshutil.RespErr[wshrpc.CommandRemoteListEntriesRtnData](ctx.Err())
				return
			}
			innerFileInfoInt, err := innerFileEntry.Info()
			if err != nil {
				log.Printf("cannot stat file %q: %v\n", innerFileEntry.Name(), err)
				continue
			}
			innerFileInfo := statToFileInfo(filepath.Join(path, innerFileInfoInt.Name()), innerFileInfoInt, false)
			fileInfoArr = append(fileInfoArr, innerFileInfo)
			if len(fileInfoArr) >= wshrpc.DirChunkSize {
				resp := wshrpc.CommandRemoteListEntriesRtnData{FileInfo: fileInfoArr}

View on GitHub (pinned to a4447c1563)

Solutions

1. Check the wrapped error: fs.ErrNotExist means path missing; permission errors mean access issues.
2. Verify the path exists and is a directory with RemoteFileInfoCommand before listing.
3. Fix the path or run with sufficient permissions.

Example fix

// before
ch := wshclient.RemoteListEntriesCommand(ctx, wshrpc.CommandRemoteListEntriesData{Path: p}, nil)
// after
if _, err := wshclient.RemoteFileInfoCommand(ctx, p, nil); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("invalid dir %q: %w", p, err)
}
ch := wshclient.RemoteListEntriesCommand(ctx, wshrpc.CommandRemoteListEntriesData{Path: p}, nil)

info, err := wshclient.RemoteFileInfoCommand(ctx, dirPath, nil)
if err != nil || info.DirType != "dir" {
    return fmt.Errorf("not a readable directory: %s", dirPath)
}

for item := range ch {
    if item.Error != nil {
        if errors.Is(item.Error, fs.ErrNotExist) { return ErrDirMissing }
        return item.Error
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling RemoteListEntriesCommand (Opts.All=false) with a path that does not exist, is a file, or lacks read permission.

Common situations: Typo in the directory path; listing a deleted directory; permission-restricted paths (e.g. /root); pointing at a file instead of a directory.

Related errors

• accessing file %s: %w
• reading directory %s: %w
• reading file %s: %w
• error creating listener at %v: %v
• getting file info: %w

AI-assisted analysis of wavetermdev/waveterm@a4447c1563 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1b1649fbae060daf. Report an issue: GitHub.