fix(core): silently skip GEMINI.md paths that are directories (EISDIR) by shathwik30 · Pull Request #22852 · google-gemini/gemini-cli

shathwik30 · 2026-03-17T20:02:51Z

Summary

When a directory named GEMINI.md exists anywhere in the project tree, fs.access() succeeds (directories are readable), so the path gets added to the memory discovery list. The subsequent fs.readFile() call then throws EISDIR, which was previously caught and emitted as a logger.warn() — surfacing a confusing warning for a completely valid project structure.

Root cause

In readGeminiMdFiles, the catch block treated all read errors equally, forwarding them to logger.warn. An EISDIR error is not an unexpected failure — it simply means a directory exists where a file was expected, and the right action is to skip it silently.

Fix

Applied the EAFP pattern inside readGeminiMdFiles (packages/core/src/utils/memoryDiscovery.ts): detect the EISDIR error code and demote it to a debugLogger.debug call, silently returning null content for that path. All other error types continue to produce a logger.warn as before.

const isEISDIR =
  typeof error === 'object' &&
  error !== null &&
  'code' in error &&
  (error as { code: string }).code === 'EISDIR';

if (isEISDIR) {
  // A directory exists where a GEMINI.md file is expected — skip silently.
  debugLogger.debug('[DEBUG] [MemoryDiscovery] Skipping directory at GEMINI.md path:', filePath);
} else {
  // warn for genuine unexpected read errors
  ...
}

Test plan

Added should silently skip a GEMINI.md path that is a directory (EISDIR) unit test — creates a GEMINI.md/ directory in the workspace and asserts that loadServerHierarchicalMemory returns empty content without throwing or warning
All 38 existing tests in memoryDiscovery.test.ts pass
Pre-commit hooks (prettier + eslint) pass

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

When a directory named GEMINI.md exists in the project tree, fs.access() succeeds (directories are readable), so the path is added to the discovery list. The subsequent fs.readFile() then throws EISDIR, which was previously caught and emitted as a logger.warn(), surfacing a noisy warning for a completely valid project structure. Apply the EAFP pattern: detect the EISDIR error code in readGeminiMdFiles and demote it to a debug-level log, silently returning null content for that path. All other errors continue to be warned as before. Add a unit test that creates a GEMINI.md directory alongside real files and asserts that loadServerHierarchicalMemory returns empty content without throwing. Fixes google-gemini#16282 Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

google-cla · 2026-03-17T20:03:08Z

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gemini-code-assist · 2026-03-17T20:03:09Z

Summary of Changes

Hello, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request refines the memory discovery process by introducing robust error handling for GEMINI.md file paths. Previously, if a directory was named GEMINI.md, the system would issue a warning, which was misleading for a valid project setup. The changes ensure that such directory paths are now silently skipped, improving the user experience by eliminating confusing warnings and making the system more resilient to diverse project structures.

Highlights

Error Handling: Implemented specific error handling for EISDIR (Is Directory) errors when processing GEMINI.md paths, preventing fs.readFile() from throwing confusing warnings when a directory exists instead of a file.
Logging: Demoted EISDIR warnings to debugLogger.debug calls, ensuring that valid project structures with GEMINI.md directories do not produce unnecessary warnings.
Testing: Added a new unit test to verify that the system silently skips GEMINI.md paths that are directories and returns empty content without errors.

Changelog

packages/core/src/utils/memoryDiscovery.test.ts
- Added a new test case should silently skip a GEMINI.md path that is a directory (EISDIR) to validate the new error handling.
packages/core/src/utils/memoryDiscovery.ts
- Modified the readGeminiMdFiles function to specifically check for EISDIR error codes.
- Changed EISDIR errors to be logged at the debug level instead of a warning, and return null content.
- Ensured other types of read errors still produce a logger.warn.

Activity

Authored by shathwik30.
Introduced a fix for issue [Core] Handle EISDIR error when GEMINI.md is a directory during memory discovery #16282.
Added a new unit test to cover the EISDIR scenario.
Updated error handling logic in memoryDiscovery.ts.
Pre-commit hooks (prettier + eslint) passed.

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Code Review

This pull request effectively addresses a bug where a directory named GEMINI.md would cause an EISDIR error and generate a confusing warning. The fix correctly identifies this specific error code and handles it gracefully by skipping the warning. The addition of a dedicated unit test is a great way to ensure this fix is robust and prevents future regressions. The suggestion to improve the type safety of the error checking logic is valid and has been retained.

shathwik30 · 2026-03-17T20:06:35Z

I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA

Co-authored-by: gemini-code-assist[bot] <176961590+gemini-code-assist[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

cocosheng-g · 2026-04-09T21:25:35Z

Hi @shathwik30, this PR is being closed due to test failures and 23 days of inactivity. To keep the review queue manageable, we are closing stale blocked PRs. Please feel free to re-open this PR or open a new one once the issues are resolved! Thank you for your contribution.

When a directory named GEMINI.md exists in the workspace tree, the memory discovery process previously logged a confusing 'Could not read GEMINI.md' warning because fs.readFile throws EISDIR on directories. Directories with that name are valid in some project structures and should simply be ignored. Detect EISDIR specifically in the readGeminiMdFiles catch block and skip silently with a debug log, while preserving the warning behaviour for genuinely unexpected read errors. Adds two tests: - a direct readGeminiMdFiles test asserting null content (no throw) when given a directory path - an end-to-end loadServerHierarchicalMemory test asserting empty memory when a GEMINI.md directory is present in the workspace Fixes google-gemini#16282 Supersedes google-gemini#22852 (closed due to test failures and inactivity); the production fix here uses the same NodeJS.ErrnoException type guard that gemini-code-assist suggested on that PR, with fresh tests written from scratch against the current code.

shathwik30 requested a review from a team as a code owner March 17, 2026 20:02

gemini-code-assist Bot reviewed Mar 17, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread packages/core/src/utils/memoryDiscovery.ts Outdated

Update packages/core/src/utils/memoryDiscovery.ts

23161af

Co-authored-by: gemini-code-assist[bot] <176961590+gemini-code-assist[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

gemini-cli Bot added priority/p2 Important but can be addressed in a future release. area/core Issues related to User Interface, OS Support, Core Functionality help wanted We will accept PRs from all issues marked as "help wanted". Thanks for your support! labels Mar 17, 2026

cocosheng-g closed this Apr 9, 2026

cocosheng-g mentioned this pull request Apr 9, 2026

[Core] Handle EISDIR error when GEMINI.md is a directory during memory discovery #16282

Closed

martin-hsu-test mentioned this pull request Apr 19, 2026

fix(core): silently skip GEMINI.md paths that are directories (EISDIR) #25662

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fix(core): silently skip GEMINI.md paths that are directories (EISDIR)#22852

fix(core): silently skip GEMINI.md paths that are directories (EISDIR)#22852
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shathwik30 commented Mar 17, 2026

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