yorukot/superfile · error

failed to create destination file: %w

Error message

failed to create destination file: %w

What it means

copyFile wraps os.OpenFile(dst, O_WRONLY|O_CREATE|O_TRUNC, srcInfo.Mode()) failures when creating/truncating the destination file. The source mode is preserved; failure usually means the destination directory doesn't exist, lacks write permission, or dst is itself a directory.

Source

Thrown at src/internal/file_operations.go:146

	}
	return os.Symlink(target, dst)
}

func isSymlink(info os.FileInfo) bool {
	return info.Mode()&os.ModeSymlink != 0
}

// copyFile copies a single file
func copyFile(src, dst string, srcInfo os.FileInfo) error {
	srcFile, err := os.Open(src)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to open source file: %w", err)
	}
	defer srcFile.Close()

	dstFile, err := os.OpenFile(dst, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_CREATE|os.O_TRUNC, srcInfo.Mode())
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create destination file: %w", err)
	}
	defer dstFile.Close()

	if _, err := io.Copy(dstFile, srcFile); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to copy file contents: %w", err)
	}
	return nil
}

// pasteDir handles directory copying with progress tracking
func pasteDir(src, dst string, p *processbar.Process, cut bool, processBarModel *processbar.Model) error {
	dst, err := renameIfDuplicate(dst)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	// Check if we can do a fast move within the same partition
	sameDev, err := isSamePartition(src, dst)

View on GitHub (pinned to b72f550bc6)

Solutions

1. Ensure the destination directory exists (mkdir -p / filepath.MkdirAll) before pasting.
2. Add write permission to the destination directory (chmod u+w) or run as a user with rights.
3. Check the target path isn't an existing directory; choose a different name or remove the directory.
4. Check available space/quotas (df -h) and remount read-only volumes read-write.

Example fix

// before
err := ops.CopyFile(srcPath, dstPath)
// after
if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(dstPath), 0o755); err != nil {
    return err
}
if info, err := os.Stat(dstPath); err == nil && info.IsDir() {
    return fmt.Errorf("%s is a directory; pick a different target name", dstPath)
}
return ops.CopyFile(srcPath, dstPath)

if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(dst), 0o755); err != nil {
    return err
}
if info, err := os.Stat(dst); err == nil && info.IsDir() {
    return fmt.Errorf("target %s is a directory", dst)
}
if !writableDir(filepath.Dir(dst)) {
    return fmt.Errorf("destination dir %s is not writable", filepath.Dir(dst))
}

if err := ops.CopyFile(src, dst); err != nil {
    if errors.Is(err, fs.ErrPermission) { /* chmod/chown or pick another target */ }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Pasting into a non-existent target directory; pasting onto a read-only mount or a path requiring root; target name collides with an existing directory; destination filesystem full may also surface here on create.

Common situations: Read-only volume or read-only bind mount; destination dir deleted between navigation and paste; copying a file over a path that is actually a directory (EISDIR); quota/permissions in shared folders.

Related errors

• failed to create destination directory: %w
• failed to read source directory: %w
• failed to get entry info: %w
• failed to open source file: %w
• failed to copy file contents: %w

AI-assisted analysis of yorukot/superfile@b72f550bc6 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/76a13e770326e197. Report an issue: GitHub.