yamadashy/repomix · error · RepomixError

Failed to copy output file: ${(error as Error).message}

Error message

Failed to copy output file: ${(error as Error).message}

What it means

Fallback error in `copyOutputToCurrentDirectory`: any copy failure that is not EPERM/EACCES (e.g. ENOSPC disk full, EISDIR, ENOENT) is wrapped into a RepomixError carrying the underlying Node error message. It signals the packed output file could not be moved to the requested target path.

Source

Thrown at src/cli/actions/remoteAction.ts:322

    await fs.copyFile(sourcePath, targetPath);
  } catch (error) {
    const nodeError = error as NodeJS.ErrnoException;

    // Provide helpful message for permission errors
    if (nodeError.code === 'EPERM' || nodeError.code === 'EACCES') {
      throw new RepomixError(
        `Failed to copy output file to ${targetPath}: Permission denied.

The current directory may be protected or require elevated permissions.
Please try one of the following:
  • Run from a different directory (e.g., your home directory or Documents folder)
  • Use the --output flag to specify a writable location: --output ~/repomix-output.xml
  • Use --stdout to print output directly to the console`,
      );
    }

    throw new RepomixError(`Failed to copy output file: ${(error as Error).message}`);
  }
};

View on GitHub (pinned to f465ad9093)

Solutions

1. Read the inner message to identify the errno code and address it
2. If `--output` points to a directory, change it to a file path
3. Free disk space if the message indicates ENOSPC
4. Retry if a transient file lock (AV/indexer) was holding the target

Example fix

// before
repomix --remote user/repo --output ./out-dir
// after
repomix --remote user/repo --output ./out-dir/repomix-output.xml

const target = path.resolve(outPath);
if (await stat(target).then(s => s.isDirectory(), () => false)) {
  throw new Error('--output must be a file path, not a directory');
}

const isErrno = (e: unknown): e is NodeJS.ErrnoException =>
  e instanceof Error && typeof (e as any).code === 'string';

try {
  await runRepomix({ remote: url, output: outPath });
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof RepomixError && e.message.startsWith('Failed to copy output file:')) {
    console.error(e.message); // includes underlying errno (ENOSPC, EISDIR, ...)
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: `fs.copyFile(sourcePath, targetPath)` in `copyOutputToCurrentDirectory` (via `runRemoteAction`) rejects with any errno code other than EPERM/EACCES — e.g. target is a directory (EISDIR), disk full (ENOSPC), source vanished (ENOENT).

Common situations: Passing `--output` pointing to an existing directory name, a full disk during a large pack, or antivirus/backup tooling locking the destination file on Windows.

Related errors

• Failed to copy output file to ${targetPath}: Permission deni
• Refusing to trust ${configName}: the remote repository's con
• Refusing to trust ${configName}: it resolves outside the clo
• Could not read the remote repository's config (${configName}
• Skill output path exists but is not a directory: ${skillDir}

AI-assisted analysis of yamadashy/repomix@f465ad9093 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8f40d09d8299c0b1. Report an issue: GitHub.