zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · warning · DiagItem

{cmd} not found in PATH

Error message

{cmd} not found in PATH

What it means

A `zeroclaw doctor` warning from `check_command_available`: spawning the probed command (`git` or `curl`) failed at the OS level — classically `ErrorKind::NotFound`, meaning the binary is not on PATH. Doctor probes these because several features (workspace tooling, HTTP fallbacks) depend on them being usable.

Source

Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-runtime/src/doctor/mod.rs:1821

        .args(args)
        .stdout(std::process::Stdio::piped())
        .stderr(std::process::Stdio::piped())
        .output()
    {
        Ok(output) if output.status.success() => {
            let ver = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
            let first_line = ver.lines().next().unwrap_or("").trim();
            let display = truncate_for_display(first_line, COMMAND_VERSION_PREVIEW_CHARS);
            items.push(DiagItem::ok(cat, format!("{cmd}: {display}")));
        }
        Ok(_) => {
            items.push(DiagItem::warn(
                cat,
                format!("{cmd} found but returned non-zero"),
            ));
        }
        Err(_) => {
            items.push(DiagItem::warn(cat, format!("{cmd} not found in PATH")));
        }
    }
}

fn format_error_chain(error: &anyhow::Error) -> String {
    let mut parts = Vec::new();
    for cause in error.chain() {
        let message = cause.to_string();
        if !message.is_empty() {
            parts.push(message);
        }
    }

    if parts.is_empty() {
        return String::new();
    }

    parts.join(": ")

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

1. Install the missing tool: `apt-get install -y git curl` (or the platform equivalent).
2. If it is installed, extend PATH for the context doctor runs in (unit `Environment=PATH=...`, container ENV, shell profile).
3. Re-run `zeroclaw doctor` and confirm the `<cmd>: <version>` ok line.

Example fix

# before: doctor -> "git not found in PATH"

# after (Debian/Ubuntu)
apt-get update && apt-get install -y git curl

fn on_path(cmd: &str) -> bool {
    std::process::Command::new(cmd).arg("--version")
        .stdout(std::process::Stdio::null())
        .stderr(std::process::Stdio::null())
        .output()
        .is_ok()
}

for cmd in ["git", "curl"] {
    assert!(on_path(cmd), "{cmd} not found in PATH");
}

fn command_on_path(cmd: &str) -> bool {
    std::process::Command::new(cmd).arg("--version").output().is_ok()
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `zeroclaw doctor` when `git` or `curl` is not installed, or is installed outside the PATH visible to doctor — common in minimal containers, clean-room servers, and systemd units with a restricted PATH.

Common situations: Slim Docker images (no build tools); hardened VMs; macOS/Linux servers where Xcode CLT or curl is missing; service units whose PATH lacks `/usr/bin`.

Related errors

• {cmd} found but returned non-zero
• neither $SHELL nor %ComSpec% is set
• systemd user lingering disabled; user service may stop after
• systemd user lingering could not be checked with loginctl
• No CLI tools found in PATH

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/78a721a0b42a0735. Report an issue: GitHub.