zed-industries/zed · error

Failed to convert {} to absolute path

Error message

Failed to convert {} to absolute path

What it means

read_file first resolves its input to a ProjectPath, then asks Project::absolute_path to map it to a filesystem path. That mapping returns None when the owning worktree cannot produce an absolute path — typically because the worktree was removed from the project or is otherwise unreadable — and the tool aborts with this error before any settings or filesystem checks.

Source

Thrown at crates/agent/src/tools/read_file_tool.rs:298

            let (project_path, symlink_canonical_target) =
                project.read_with(cx, |project, cx| {
                    let resolved =
                        resolve_project_path(project, &input.path, &canonical_roots, cx)?;
                    anyhow::Ok(match resolved {
                        ResolvedProjectPath::Safe(path) => (path, None),
                        ResolvedProjectPath::SymlinkEscape {
                            project_path,
                            canonical_target,
                        } => (project_path, Some(canonical_target)),
                    })
                }).map_err(tool_content_err)?;

            let abs_path = project
                .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
                    );
                }

View on GitHub (pinned to bc538def45)

Solutions

1. Re-open the folder containing the file as a worktree in the project and retry
2. Retry the request so path resolution runs against the current set of worktrees
3. Open the file directly in the editor if agent access is not required

let abs_path = project.read_with(cx, |project, cx| {
    project.absolute_path(&project_path, cx)
});
if abs_path.is_none() {
    // owning worktree is gone/unreadable; skip the read_file call
}

Match 'Failed to convert' in the message and re-resolve the path against the current project state before retrying once.

When it happens

Trigger: read_file on a path whose worktree was closed or removed from the multi-root project between path resolution and the absolute_path call; a path owned by an inconsistent worktree state.

Common situations: A multi-root project where one root folder is closed while an agent request is in flight; project layout changes racing tool calls.

Related errors

• Cannot read file because its path matches the global `file_s
• Cannot read file because its path matches the global `privat
• Cannot read file because its path matches the worktree `file
• Cannot read file because its path matches the worktree `priv
• `cd` directory {cd:?} was not in any root directory in the p

AI-assisted analysis of zed-industries/zed@bc538def45 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/14dade1f18e1e86c. Report an issue: GitHub.