zed-industries/zed · error

`bwrap` resolved to {bwrap_path:?} rather than an absolute p

Error message

`bwrap` resolved to {bwrap_path:?} rather than an absolute path; a shell alias or function named `bwrap` cannot be run with `wsl --exec`

What it means

The environment probe resolved bwrap to a relative path, meaning a shell alias or function named bwrap was found instead of the real binary. `wsl --exec` bypasses the shell, so such an alias cannot be used to run the sandbox.

Source

Thrown at crates/sandbox/src/windows_wsl.rs:838

/// Parse [`probe_script`] output: the last [`PROBE_RESULT_PREFIX`]-marked
/// line wins, so stdout noise from login-shell profile scripts (which runs
/// before the script body) is ignored.
fn parse_probe_output(stdout: &str) -> Result<EnvironmentProbe> {
    let line = stdout
        .lines()
        .rev()
        .find_map(|line| line.strip_prefix(PROBE_RESULT_PREFIX))
        .with_context(|| format!("no probe result line in: {stdout:?}"))?;
    let (interop, bwrap_path) = line
        .trim_start()
        .split_once(' ')
        .with_context(|| format!("malformed probe result line: {line:?}"))?;
    let mask_interop_dir = match interop {
        "interop" => true,
        "no-interop" => false,
        _ => bail!("malformed probe result line: {line:?}"),
    };
    ensure!(
        bwrap_path.starts_with('/'),
        "`bwrap` resolved to {bwrap_path:?} rather than an absolute path; a shell \
         alias or function named `bwrap` cannot be run with `wsl --exec`"
    );
    Ok(EnvironmentProbe {
        mask_interop_dir,
        bwrap_path: bwrap_path.to_string(),
    })
}

/// Ensure a Linux `zed` of the given release `channel`/`version` is available
/// inside WSL and return its absolute in-WSL path, to be `--exec`'d as the
/// `--wsl-sandbox-helper`. Runs [`HELPER_PROVISION_SCRIPT`] (which downloads the
/// matching release tarball into an off-`PATH` location on first use).
///
/// Successful resolutions are cached per `(distro, channel, version)` for the
/// life of the process — once provisioned, the path won't change. Failures are
/// not cached, so a user who installs `curl` (or fixes networking) after an

View on GitHub (pinned to f4178619ac)

Solutions

1. Install the real bwrap binary on PATH inside the WSL distro
2. Remove or rename the bwrap shell alias/function so resolution finds the actual executable
3. Set ZED_WSL_BWRAP (or equivalent) to the absolute bwrap path

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/sandbox/src/windows_wsl.rs:838 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of zed-industries/zed@f4178619ac (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7f7591ff3947e84d. Report an issue: GitHub.