zed-industries/zed · error

Cannot read file because its path matches the global `privat

Error message

Cannot read file because its path matches the global `private_files` setting: {}

What it means

read_file rejects files matching the global `private_files` setting before touching the filesystem. This is a security control: private_files keeps secrets such as keys and .env files out of agent context entirely, and unlike file_scan_exclusions it should not be loosened to make a tool call succeed.

Source

Thrown at crates/agent/src/tools/read_file_tool.rs:312

                .read_with(cx, |project, cx| {
                    project.absolute_path(&project_path, cx)
                })
                .ok_or_else(|| {
                    anyhow!("Failed to convert {} to absolute path", input.path)
                }).map_err(tool_content_err)?;

            // Check settings exclusions synchronously
            project.read_with(cx, |_project, cx| {
                let global_settings = WorktreeSettings::get_global(cx);
                if global_settings.is_path_excluded(&project_path.path) {
                    anyhow::bail!(
                        "Cannot read file because its path matches the global `file_scan_exclusions` setting: {}",
                        input.path
                    );
                }

                if global_settings.is_path_private(&project_path.path) {
                    anyhow::bail!(
                        "Cannot read file because its path matches the global `private_files` setting: {}",
                        input.path
                    );
                }

                let worktree_settings = WorktreeSettings::get(Some((&project_path).into()), cx);
                if worktree_settings.is_path_excluded(&project_path.path) {
                    anyhow::bail!(
                        "Cannot read file because its path matches the worktree `file_scan_exclusions` setting: {}",
                        input.path
                    );
                }

                if worktree_settings.is_path_private(&project_path.path) {
                    anyhow::bail!(
                        "Cannot read file because its path matches the worktree `private_files` setting: {}",
                        input.path
                    );

View on GitHub (pinned to bc538def45)

Solutions

1. Never route secrets through the agent — reference them by name and inject them via a secret manager at runtime
2. If the glob over-matches non-secret files, narrow `private_files` in global settings.json
3. Move non-secret files out of the private-matching path

Example fix

// before — global settings.json marks all of keys/ private
"private_files": ["keys/**"]

// after — only credential material is private
"private_files": ["keys/*.pem", "keys/*.env"]

let private = project.read_with(cx, |_, cx| {
    WorktreeSettings::get_global(cx).is_path_private(&project_path.path)
});
if private {
    // secret material: never pass to read_file
}

On a private_files read error, stop and inform the user the file is secret by policy; do not retry, do not attempt alternate read paths.

When it happens

Trigger: read_file on a path matched by a global `private_files` glob (`.env*`, `**/*.pem`, `**/id_rsa*`). Checked after the global file_scan_exclusions gate and before worktree settings.

Common situations: The agent tries to read a secrets file while debugging config loading; defaults or user policy intentionally block it.

Related errors

• Cannot list directory because its path matches the user's gl
• Cannot read file because its path matches the worktree `priv
• Cannot read file because its path matches the global `file_s
• Invalid model ID {}
• no language model configured

AI-assisted analysis of zed-industries/zed@bc538def45 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5a3fea6b43709c1a. Report an issue: GitHub.