wavetermdev/waveterm · error

Image too large (>5MB)

Error message

Image too large (>5MB)

What it means

createTempFileFromBlob refuses blobs larger than 5MB before writing a temporary image file (used e.g. for pasting images into the terminal). The 5MB cap protects memory and disk from oversized payloads.

Solutions

1. Resize or recompress the image (e.g. canvas downscale) so the blob is under 5MB
2. Convert to a more compact format (JPEG/WebP) before creating the temp file
3. If larger images must be supported, raise the limit in termutil.ts deliberately and test memory impact

Example fix

// before
await createTempFileFromBlob(hugeBlob);

// after
if (hugeBlob.size > 5 * 1024 * 1024) {
    hugeBlob = await compressImage(hugeBlob, 0.7);
}
const path = await createTempFileFromBlob(hugeBlob);

const MAX = 5 * 1024 * 1024;
if (!(blob instanceof Blob) || blob.size > MAX) {
    throw new Error("image must be a Blob under 5MB");
}

function isUploadableImage(blob: unknown): blob is Blob {
    return blob instanceof Blob && blob.size <= 5 * 1024 * 1024;
}

try {
    const path = await createTempFileFromBlob(blob);
} catch (e) {
    if (String(e.message).startsWith("Image too large")) {
        notifyUser("Please use an image under 5MB");
    } else { throw e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling createTempFileFromBlob(tempPath) with a Blob whose blob.size > 5 * 1024 * 1024.

Common situations: User pastes or drops a high-resolution screenshot/photo into the terminal; clipboard contains a large image; programmatic image upload exceeds the cap.

Related errors

• append would exceed maximum file size of
• file exceeds maximum size of for files
• Unsupported or invalid image type
• --active-border-color
• ai:endpoint is required

AI-assisted analysis of wavetermdev/waveterm@a4447c1563 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/268c4e342cf43b20. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at frontend/app/view/term/termutil.ts:84

    "image/heif": "heif",
    "image/avif": "avif",
    "image/x-icon": "ico",
    "image/vnd.microsoft.icon": "ico",
};

/**
 * Creates a temporary file from a Blob (typically an image).
 * Validates size, generates a unique filename, saves to temp directory,
 * and returns the file path.
 *
 * @param blob - The Blob to save
 * @returns The path to the created temporary file
 * @throws Error if blob is too large (>5MB) or data URL is invalid
 */
export async function createTempFileFromBlob(blob: Blob): Promise<string> {
    // Check size limit (5MB)
    if (blob.size > 5 * 1024 * 1024) {
        throw new Error("Image too large (>5MB)");
    }

    // Get file extension from MIME type
    if (!blob.type.startsWith("image/") || !MIME_TO_EXT[blob.type]) {
        throw new Error(`Unsupported or invalid image type: ${blob.type}`);
    }
    const ext = MIME_TO_EXT[blob.type];

    // Generate unique filename with timestamp and random component
    const timestamp = Date.now();
    const random = Math.random().toString(36).substring(2, 8);
    const filename = `waveterm_paste_${timestamp}_${random}.${ext}`;

    const arrayBuffer = await new Promise<ArrayBuffer>((resolve, reject) => {
        const reader = new FileReader();
        reader.onload = () => resolve(reader.result as ArrayBuffer);
        reader.onerror = reject;
        reader.readAsArrayBuffer(blob);

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