wavetermdev/waveterm · error

failed to delete file: %w

Error message

failed to delete file: %w

What it means

After a successful backup, deleteTextFileCallback calls os.Remove(expandedPath). Any OS-level removal failure (permission denied, file busy on some systems, directory not empty if a directory was passed) is wrapped as "failed to delete file". The backup has already been created and its path recorded in toolUseData.WriteBackupFileName, so the content is recoverable.

Source

Thrown at pkg/aiusechat/tools_writefile.go:486

	if !filepath.IsAbs(expandedPath) {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("path must be absolute, got relative path: %s", params.Filename)
	}

	_, err = validateTextFile(expandedPath, "delete", true)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	backupPath, err := filebackup.MakeFileBackup(expandedPath)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create backup: %w", err)
	}
	toolUseData.WriteBackupFileName = backupPath

	err = os.Remove(expandedPath)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to delete file: %w", err)
	}

	return map[string]any{
		"success": true,
		"message": fmt.Sprintf("Successfully deleted %s", params.Filename),
	}, nil
}

func GetDeleteTextFileToolDefinition() uctypes.ToolDefinition {
	return uctypes.ToolDefinition{
		Name:        "delete_text_file",
		DisplayName: "Delete Text File",
		Description: "Delete a text file from the filesystem. A backup is created before deletion. Maximum file size: 100KB.",
		ToolLogName: "gen:deletefile",
		Strict:      true,
		InputSchema: map[string]any{
			"type": "object",
			"properties": map[string]any{

View on GitHub (pinned to a4447c1563)

Solutions

1. Check/fix write permission on the file's parent directory
2. Inspect the wrapped inner error (%w) for the exact OS reason (ENOENT, EACCES, EBUSY)
3. Restore from the recorded backup (toolUseData.WriteBackupFileName) if needed and retry after fixing
4. Remove immutable flags or free file locks before retrying
5. For directories, remove contents first — the tool targets text files

info, err := os.Stat(expandedPath)
if err != nil || info.IsDir() {
    return fmt.Errorf("delete target must be an existing file")
}
// check parent dir writability
if unix.Access(filepath.Dir(expandedPath), unix.W_OK) != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("no write permission on parent directory")
}

err = os.Remove(expandedPath)
if err != nil {
    if os.IsPermission(err) {
        // fix perms or restore from toolUseData.WriteBackupFileName
    }
    return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to delete file: %w", err)
}

When it happens

Trigger: os.Remove fails: no write permission on the parent directory, read-only filesystem, file locked/immutable, or expandedPath is a non-empty directory.

Common situations: Deleting files in root-owned directories without elevation; read-only mounts (container layers, network shares); immutable flags (chattr +i); passing a directory that validateTextFile did not reject.

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/cb18d1ff09fc8f01. Report an issue: GitHub.