Arch Linux

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

Hello, I have encountered this issue and found no solution or even any clue (except maybe a mention of fuse?):

I am unable to make icestudio, a node app, write any file at all unless started as root, either sudo <appimage> or sudo npm start from source.
It silently fails the write operation, and I am unable to even produce a log for it as it is *completely* unable to write.

System is standard Arch with KDE Plasma 6 wayland.

mackin_cheese

Member

Registered: 2025-01-07

Posts: 475

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

where is it trying to save the file?

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

where is it trying to save the file?

Doesnt matter, I have tried /tmp, ~/<path>, ~/path with 777 chmod, etc. It's just completly unable to write. It did manage to download stuffs in ~/.icestudio though, strangely.

mackin_cheese

Member

Registered: 2025-01-07

Posts: 475

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

how did you install icestudio?

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

how did you install icestudio?

Tried AUR package, manually downloading the appimage, and finally cloning the repository and doing the manual setup to be able to do npm start from there.

Last edited by Twen (2025-02-06 19:30:26)

mackin_cheese

Member

Registered: 2025-01-07

Posts: 475

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

how did you install icestudio?

Tried AUR package, manually downloading the appimage, and finally cloning the repository and doing the manual setup to be able to do npm start from there.

so you compiled it outside of aur? what happened when you were trying to install via AUR?

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

It's a npm node app, there isnt a compilation stage.
The result was the same for all versions, as mentioned.

Last edited by Twen (2025-02-06 19:52:40)

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

This is incomplete actually, i removed gconf package from dependencies of the AUR package because i do not use gnome.
Note this shouldnt be a problem as the dependency hasnt existed for years for node apps.

Last edited by Twen (2025-02-06 19:59:26)

mackin_cheese

Member

Registered: 2025-01-07

Posts: 475

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

alright, try building it from the aur WITH the gconf dependency and see if that fixes the issue or not

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

alright, try building it from the aur WITH the gconf dependency and see if that fixes the issue or not

It doesnt build because I dont use gnome. Also see the pinned comment on the package: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/gconf, it is also not a dependency of icestudio.

mackin_cheese

Member

Registered: 2025-01-07

Posts: 475

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

alright, try building it from the aur WITH the gconf dependency and see if that fixes the issue or not

It doesnt build because I dont use gnome. Also see the pinned comment on the package: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/gconf, it is also not a dependency of icestudio.

not sure where to go from here then, i was able to install it from the AUR (kept gconf as gnome is not needed as a runtime dependency, only as a make dependency which gets removed). and was able to open the software without setting it as a executable and was able to save.

Unable to replicate issue both with and without gconf in the mix.

Last edited by mackin_cheese (2025-02-06 20:17:14)

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

Yes, i suspect this is something with my system but I have no clue at all where to start to look...
I will try figuring how to get gconf to build and report if that made it work.

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

It was not gconf, still have the issue with it built and installed.

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 25,076

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

Do you see fuse errors in dmesg when this happens? There's a bug in the 6.13 kernel and the fuse layer, might want to opt for linux-lts for the time being if you rely on appimages/flatpak and what have you. https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … issues/110

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

Do you see fuse errors in dmesg when this happens? There's a bug in the 6.13 kernel and the fuse layer, might want to opt for linux-lts for the time being if you rely on appimages/flatpak and what have you. https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … issues/110

No errors. I am on 6.12.10, not quite up to date, should i try updating the system and see if it changes anything?

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 25,076

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

Nope, it will likely rather make matters worse, but maybe the changes in fuse have the reverse effect for you . These bugs shouldn't yet have been in 6.12.10... the ultimately underlying interaction is likely things trying to talk to the filesystem via xdg-portal framework. Speaking of which is xdg-desktop-portal-kde running and installed?

Twen

Member

Registered: 2017-03-06

Posts: 12

Re: Unable to write any file with AppImages or npm start (Icestudio)

I updated it anyway (before the message) as there is no consequences (I also have the non-appimage version setup from source). No change.

xdg-desktop-portal-kde

6.2.5-1