Confusing error message when rename target is an open file
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Description
Bug report
Bug description:
Background
Writing a tool to update and rename some files, I made a mistake and tried to rename a file while it was still open. This works on Linux, but raises an error when writing to a Windows network shares. This is known and documented - see Path.rename docs.
The issue
The problem I have is that the error message is incorrect. It says "FileNotFound", which is confusing because the files do exist. If I had got a more useful message, I would have worked out what the problem was with my tool much sooner.
Repro case
file1 = Path("test1.txt")
file2 = Path("test2.txt")
file1.open("w").write("file 1 text\n")
file2.open("w").write("file 2 text\n")
with file1.open():
file2.rename(file1)
Outcomes;
On linux, writing to pwd or a linux network share, file is rewritten without error.
On linux, writing to a Windows network share, an incorrect error message is given.
$ python test.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/home/jontwo/test.py", line 17, in <module>
main()
File "/home/jontwo/test.py", line 13, in main
file2.rename(file1)
File "/usr/lib/python3.12/pathlib.py", line 1363, in rename
os.rename(self, target)
FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'test2.txt' -> 'test1.txt'
On Windows, writing to pwd, a useful error message is given.
c:\temp>python test.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "c:\temp\test.py", line 16, in <module>
main()
File "c:\temp\test.py", line 12, in main
file2.rename(file1)
File "C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Python312\Lib\pathlib.py", line 1363, in rename
os.rename(self, target)
FileExistsError: [WinError 183] Cannot create a file when that file already exists: 'test2.txt' -> 'test1.txt'
CPython versions tested on:
3.12
Operating systems tested on:
Linux, Windows
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reproducing the pathlib.Path.rename case shown in the issue on Linux and Windows network-share conditions. Inspect pathlib.py around the reported rename entry point and compare the resulting errors with the documented Path.rename behavior. Done means the open-target case no longer presents a misleading FileNotFound message, with the platform-specific behavior covered by appropriate tests.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- operating-systems
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100