error: Uncaught (in promise) AlreadyExists: File exists (os error 17): symlink #76

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1. jhheider

   transferred this issue frompkgxdev/pkgxon Jan 20, 2026
2. jhheider commented on Jan 20, 2026

   

   jhheider

   on Jan 20, 2026

   Last edited by jhheider

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   here's the relevant lines:

   pkgm/pkgm.ts

   Lines 497 to 502 in e3934de

   	function symlink_with_overwrite(src: string, dst: string) {
   	if (existsSync(dst) && Deno.lstatSync(dst).isSymlink) {
   	Deno.removeSync(dst);
   	}
   	Deno.symlinkSync(src, dst);
   	}

   notably, the trap checks that the thing it's removing is a symlink before removing it. soooooo... that suggests there's something other than a symlink there. next time you see this, can you ls -l $whatever and check? that trap should probably exit gracefully with a better error message if it finds something other than a symlink.

   notably, this will fail with a hard link (i.e. "a file"). so we might be hitting that if it's hardlinking to deal with a boundary issue. as it can do on line 371:

   pkgm/pkgm.ts

   Lines 352 to 380 in e3934de

   	async function processEntry(sourcePath: string, targetPath: string) {
   	const fileInfo = await Deno.lstat(sourcePath);
   	if (fileInfo.isDirectory) {
   	// Create the target directory
   	await ensureDir(targetPath);
   	// Recursively process the contents of the directory
   	for await (const entry of Deno.readDir(sourcePath)) {
   	const entrySourcePath = join(sourcePath, entry.name);
   	const entryTargetPath = join(targetPath, entry.name);
   	await processEntry(entrySourcePath, entryTargetPath);
   	}
   	} else if (fileInfo.isFile) {
   	// Remove the target file if it exists
   	if (existsSync(targetPath)) {
   	await Deno.remove(targetPath);
   	}
   	// Create a hard link for files
   	await Deno.link(sourcePath, targetPath);
   	} else if (fileInfo.isSymlink) {
   	// Recreate symlink in the target directory
   	const linkTarget = await Deno.readLink(sourcePath);
   	symlink_with_overwrite(linkTarget, targetPath);
   	} else {
   	throw new Error(`unsupported file type at: ${sourcePath}`);
   	}
   	}
   	}
3. magnusviri commented on Feb 14, 2026

   

   magnusviri

   on Feb 14, 2026

   Last edited by magnusviri

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   I figured this out. existsSync(dst) is returning false when Deno.lstatSync(dst).isSymlink returns true, and it looks like it's because dst is a link to a file that doesn't exist. So existsSync(dst) must be following the link and checking that file if it exists.
4. jhheider commented on Feb 14, 2026

   

   jhheider

   on Feb 14, 2026

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   Fascinating and brutal. So, perhaps either the existsSync() is purely redundant, or perhaps we should just switch the ||. || means it'll remove hard links (which is good), but also means it will remove files we didn't install (which is bad).
5. magnusviri commented on Feb 14, 2026

   

   magnusviri

   on Feb 14, 2026

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   I didn't see your comment until just now. The pull request is what ChatGPT said to do.
6. magnusviri commented on Feb 14, 2026

   

   magnusviri

   on Feb 14, 2026

   Last edited by magnusviri

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   Sigh, I'm still getting this error. I'll debug it some more next time I work on this.
7. jhheider commented on Feb 14, 2026

   

   jhheider

   on Feb 14, 2026

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   The answer is probably:

   If deno lstat issymlink then remove
   After that, if exists then we need to do something. Probably error unless we have a --force flag, is my guess. Since it'll remove any file. Not the biggest problem in /usr/local, but potentially lossy. Could delete something someone wanted.
8. jhheider

   added a commit that references this issue on Feb 17, 2026

   fix dangling symlinks

   ...

   This issue will close once commit 6adc003 is merged into the 'main' branch.

   6adc003
9. jhheider commented on Feb 17, 2026

   

   jhheider

   on Feb 17, 2026

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   @magnusviri see if #79 fixes it for you. this tries to take a more considered approach:

   • if it's a symlink, confidently remove it
   • if it still exists afterward, remove it iff -f/--force was passed
   • otherwise, complain with a (hopefully) helpful error message
10. magnusviri commented on Feb 20, 2026

    

    magnusviri

    on Feb 20, 2026

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    It fixed one instance of the problem. I'll keep testing it and let you know if it causes me problems.
11. jhheider commented on Feb 20, 2026

    

    jhheider

    on Feb 20, 2026

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    result! i'm hopeful. i didn't want it to smash stuff you wanted, but you should have some recourse to move forward.