What causes "{editor} exited with non-zero status" in zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw?

Re-run the command and exit the editor normally (save then quit, e.g. :wq in vim)

zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · error · anyhow::Error

{editor} exited with non-zero status

Error message

{editor} exited with non-zero status

What it means

The chosen editor was launched successfully but its process returned a non-zero exit status, so the CLI treats the edit session as failed and refuses to continue. The editor binary name is included in the message.

Source

Thrown at src/skills/mod.rs:1237

        let prompt: String = dialoguer::Input::new()
            .with_prompt("Skill description (what it does, when to use it)")
            .interact_text()?;
        if prompt.trim().is_empty() {
            anyhow::bail!("description must not be empty");
        }
        Ok(prompt)
    } else {
        anyhow::bail!("--description is required when stdin is not a TTY");
    }
}

fn open_in_editor(path: &std::path::Path) -> Result<()> {
    let Some(editor) = editor_from_env_or_path() else {
        anyhow::bail!("no editor found; set VISUAL or EDITOR");
    };
    let status = std::process::Command::new(&editor).arg(path).status()?;
    if !status.success() {
        anyhow::bail!("{editor} exited with non-zero status");
    }
    Ok(())
}

fn editor_from_env_or_path() -> Option<String> {
    std::env::var("VISUAL")
        .ok()
        .filter(|value| !value.trim().is_empty())
        .or_else(|| {
            std::env::var("EDITOR")
                .ok()
                .filter(|value| !value.trim().is_empty())
        })
        .or_else(|| {
            fallback_editors()
                .iter()
                .copied()
                .find(|candidate| executable_on_path(candidate))

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

Re-run the command and exit the editor normally (save then quit, e.g. :wq in vim)
Verify the editor works standalone on the file: $VISUAL /path/to/file
Use a terminal-based blocking editor (nano, vim) for VISUAL/EDITOR instead of forking GUI editors
If the editor cannot work in this context, edit the generated file manually at the path the command printed

Example fix

# before
export EDITOR='code --wait'  # returns before save in some setups
# after
export EDITOR=vim  # blocking terminal editor, exit :wq to continue

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if [ -n "${VISUAL:-${EDITOR:-}}" ]; then
  # smoke-test the editor exits 0 on a scratch file before the real run
  f=$(mktemp); "${VISUAL:-$EDITOR}" "$f" </dev/null >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo 'editor unusable' >&2; exit 1; }; rm -f "$f"
fi

Try / catch

match err.chain().to_string() containing "exited with non-zero status" -> report which editor failed, print the file path so the user can edit it manually, and exit non-zero without retry

Prevention

Exit editors with a normal save+quit (:wq, Ctrl+O/Ctrl+X), never :cq
Point VISUAL/EDITOR at a blocking terminal editor
Verify wrapper scripts used as EDITOR propagate the child editor's exit status

When it happens

Trigger: Quitting vim with :cq (deliberate non-zero exit); editor crashing on launch; the editor unable to open the path (permissions, bad path); GUI editors that fork and return immediately with a status; a mistyped VISUAL/EDITOR value that resolves to a failing command.

Common situations: Users aborting the editor with an error exit; wrapper scripts set as EDITOR that exit non-zero; editors needing a TTY run without one; VS Code/GUI editors used as EDITOR in non-blocking mode.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fb0111b39d7ab817. Report an issue: GitHub.