yamadashy/repomix · error · RepomixError

Failed to copy output file

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.

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

• An unexpected error occurred while filtering files.
• Config file not found at
• Could not read the remote repository's config
• Failed to build full directory structure
• Failed to copy output file to

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

Appendix: 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)