Failed to create cache directory when running yazi with `sudo -E -s`

[boydaihungst]

What system are you running Yazi on?

Linux Wayland

What terminal are you running Yazi in?

kitty 0.48.1

ya env output

Yazi
    Version: 26.5.6 (e7fa4d2 2026-07-26)
    Debug  : false
    Triple : x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu (linux-x86_64)
    Rustc  : 1.97.1 (8bab26f4 2026-07-14)
    Backtrace: None

Ya
    Version: 26.5.6 (e7fa4d2 2026-07-26)
    Debug  : false
    Triple : x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu (linux-x86_64)
    Rustc  : 1.97.1 (8bab26f4 2026-07-14)

Config
    Init             : /home/huyhoang/.config/yazi/init.lua (11080 chars)
    Yazi             : /home/huyhoang/.config/yazi/yazi.toml (16269 chars)
    Keymap           : /home/huyhoang/.config/yazi/keymap.toml (35726 chars)
    Theme            : /home/huyhoang/.config/yazi/theme.toml (5468 chars)
    VFS              : /home/huyhoang/.config/yazi/vfs.toml (279 chars)
    Package          : /home/huyhoang/.config/yazi/package.toml (2300 chars)
    Dark/light flavor: ArcSwapAny("") / ArcSwapAny("")

Emulator
    TERM                : Some("xterm-kitty")
    TERM_PROGRAM        : None
    TERM_PROGRAM_VERSION: None
    Brand.from_env      : Some(Kitty)
    Emulator.detect     : Emulator { kind: Left(Kitty), version: "kitty(0.48.1)", light: false, csi_16t: (13, 25), force_16t: false }

Adapter
    Adapter.matches    : Kgp
    Dimension.available: Dimension { cols: 93, rows: 53, width: 1209, height: 1325 }

Desktop
    XDG_SESSION_TYPE           : Some("wayland")
    WAYLAND_DISPLAY            : Some("wayland-1")
    DISPLAY                    : Some(":0")
    NIRI_SOCKET                : None
    SWAYSOCK                   : None
    HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE: Some("36b2e0cfe0c6094dbc47bd42a437431315bb3087_1785064815_1845077186")
    WAYFIRE_SOCKET             : None

SSH
    shared.in_ssh_connection: false

WSL
    WSL: false

Variables
    SHELL              : Some("/bin/fish")
    EDITOR             : Some("nvim")
    VISUAL             : Some("nvim")
    YAZI_FILE_ONE      : None
    YAZI_CONFIG_HOME   : None
    YAZI_ZOXIDE_OPTS   : None
    SSH_AUTH_SOCK      : Some("/run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh")
    FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS   : None
    FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND: None

Text Opener
    default     : Some(OpenerRuleArc(OpenerRule { id: Id(35), run: NonEmptyString("kitty --app-id \"nvim\" -- nvim %s"), block: false, orphan: true, desc: "Nvim", for: Linux, spread: true }))
    block-create: None
    block-rename: Some(OpenerRuleArc(OpenerRule { id: Id(29), run: NonEmptyString("nvim %s"), block: true, orphan: false, desc: "", for: All, spread: true }))

Multiplexers
    TMUX               : false
    tmux version       : tmux 3.7b
    tmux build flags   : enable-sixel=Supported
    ZELLIJ_SESSION_NAME: None
    Zellij version     : No such file or directory (os error 2)

Dependencies
    file          : 5.46
    ueberzugpp    : 2.9.10
    ffmpeg/ffprobe: 8.1.2 / 8.1.2
    pdftoppm      : 26.01.0
    magick        : 7.1.2-27
    fzf           : 0.74.0
    fd/fdfind     : 10.4.2 / No such file or directory (os error 2)
    rg            : 14.1.1
    chafa         : No such file or directory (os error 2)
    zoxide        : 0.9.8
    7zz/7z        : No such file or directory (os error 2) / 26.02
    resvg         : 0.47.0
    jq            : 1.8.1

Clipboard
    wl-copy/paste: 2.2.1 / 2.2.1
    xclip        : No such file or directory (os error 2)
    xsel         : 1.2.1

Routine
    `file -bL --mime-type`: text/plain

Describe the bug

If I set cache_dir = "~/.cache/yazi/" in yazi.toml file, and run yazi with sudo -E -s yazi command, this error is threw:

Failed to parse config "/home/huyhoang/.config/yazi/yazi.toml"

Caused by:
Failed to create cache directory: /home/huyhoang/.cache/yazi


Press <Enter> to continue with preset settings...

That cache folder is already created by normal yazi command before:

❯ ll /home/huyhoang/.cache/yazi
total 664K
drwx------. 1 huyhoang huyhoang  224 Jul 26 22:27 ./
drwxr-xr-x. 1 huyhoang huyhoang  936 Jul 26 22:24 ../
-rw-r--r--. 1 huyhoang huyhoang 160K Jul 26 22:27 HCAU6QGZN7IUQBPGOKJGM4ZH7U
-rw-r--r--. 1 huyhoang huyhoang 170K Jul 26 22:27 WMZGM5FECAG6DYUFHTHQCWPDBQ

Minimal reproducer

Prerequisites:
Edit sudo config file with command sudo visudo:

• Comment: # Defaults always_set_home -> prevent set $HOME to /root
• Uncomment: Defaults env_keep += "HOME" -> keep using $HOME from /home/huyhoang instead of /root
• Reset after that or wait for previous sudo command timeout
• Set cache_dir = "~/.cache/yazi/" in yazi.toml file

Step 1: Start normal yazi with command: yazi to create initial cache folder: /home/huyhoang/.cache/yazi
Step 2: Start yazi with command: sudo -E -s yazi. The error shows up.

Anything else?

These are output of sudo env:

DEBUGINFOD_URLS=ima:enforcing https://debuginfod.fedoraproject.org/ ima:ignore
WLR_RENDERER=vulkan
XDG_CONFIG_DIRS=/etc/xdg
HISTSIZE=1000
SUDO_TTY=/dev/pts/1
PATH=/home/huyhoang/.asdf/shims:/usr/lib/safe-rm:/home/huyhoang/n/bin:/usr/local/bin:/home/huyhoang/.yarn/bin:/home/huyhoang/.config/yarn/global/node_modules/.bin:/home/huyhoang/.local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/var/lib/snapd/snap/bin:/home/huyhoang/bin:/home/huyhoang/.cargo/bin:/home/huyhoang/go/bin:/home/huyhoang/.dotnet/tools
TERM=xterm-kitty
MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH=/sys/fs/cgroup/user.slice/user-1000.slice/user@1000.service/session.slice/wayland-wm@hyprland.desktop.service/memory.pressure
COLORTERM=truecolor
XDG_VIDEOS_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Videos
CCACHE_MAXSIZE=50G
LOGNAME=root
ABBR_TIPS_PROMPT=\n💡 \e[1m{{ .abbr }}\e[0m => {{ .cmd }}
XDG_MENU_PREFIX=hyprland-
ENABLE_HDR_WSI=1
SYSTEMD_EXEC_PID=2370
SUDO_GID=1000
DESKTOP_SESSION=hyprland-uwsm
_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1
KITTY_INSTALLATION_DIR=/usr/lib64/kitty
MPD_HOST=/home/huyhoang/.config/mpd/socket
XDG_VTNR=2
XDG_BACKEND=wayland
KITTY_LISTEN_ON=unix:/tmp/kitty-212010
ELECTRON_OZONE_PLATFORM_HINT=wayland
HL_INITIAL_WORKSPACE_TOKEN=2e244c16-f911-4cf9-94f2-52a9e56c01e6
NOTIFY_SOCKET=/run/user/1000/systemd/notify
XDG_PICTURES_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Pictures
INVOCATION_ID=f9eec5da037d45199574024912455b3a
XDG_DESKTOP_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Desktop
XDG_SESSION_ID=3
QT4_IM_MODULE=fcitx
MOZ_GMP_PATH=/usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/gmp-gmpopenh264/system-installed
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000
XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/home/huyhoang/.config
XDG_SESSION_CLASS=user
XDG_PUBLICSHARE_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Share
DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/1000/bus
OZONE_PLATFORM=wayland
GPG_TTY=not a tty
DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/1000/docker.sock
GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx
KITTY_PUBLIC_KEY=1:QWhMe!$Rx6NPZK@e16LsNx%u?V;R>UMqSY|Kxy<{
HYPRCURSOR_THEME=Qogir-cursors
ABBR_TIPS_REGEXES=(^(\w+\s+)+(-{1,2})\w+)(\s\S+) (^(\s?(\w-?)+){3}).* (^(\s?(\w-?)+){2}).* (^(\s?(\w-?)+){1}).*
UWSM_WAIT_VARNAMES=HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE
HYPRCURSOR_SIZE=24
XDG_SEAT_PATH=/org/freedesktop/DisplayManager/Seat0
VISUAL=nvim
XDG_SEAT=seat0
USER=root
JAVA_HOME=
GLFW_IM_MODULE=fcitx
MANAGERPID=1902
AQ_DRM_DEVICES=/dev/dri/amd-igpu:/dev/dri/nvidia-egpu
__ABBR_TIPS_KEYS=a__cp a__mv a__ssh a__sudo a__z a__zi
QT_IM_MODULE=fcitx
KITTY_WINDOW_ID=1
XDG_CACHE_HOME=/home/huyhoang/.cache
GDK_DEBUG=portals
XDG_STATE_HOME=/home/huyhoang/.local/state
XDG_MUSIC_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Music
MOZ_USE_XINPUT2=1
GTK_USE_PORTAL=1
XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Hyprland
SSH_AUTH_SOCK=/run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh
XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Downloads
__ABBR_TIPS_VALUES=/usr/local/bin/advcp -g /usr/local/bin/advmv -g kitten ssh sudo -E -s __zoxide_z __zoxide_zi
INPUT_METHOD=fcitx
XDG_DATA_DIRS=/home/huyhoang/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share:/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share:/usr/local/share:/usr/share
XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Documents
SUDO_UID=1000
HISTCONTROL=ignoredups
DISPLAY=:0
MAIL=/var/spool/mail/huyhoang
XCURSOR_SIZE=24
SUDO_HOME=/home/huyhoang
npm_config_prefix=/home/huyhoang/.local
STARSHIP_SESSION_KEY=1716727399998304
SHELL=/bin/fish
XDG_SESSION_PATH=/org/freedesktop/DisplayManager/Session1
SUDO_USER=huyhoang
CCACHE_COMPRESS=1
XDG_DATA_HOME=/home/huyhoang/.local/share
UWSM_FINALIZE_VARNAMES=HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE HYPRLAND_CMD HYPRCURSOR_THEME HYPRCURSOR_SIZE XCURSOR_SIZE XCURSOR_THEME
XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland
PWD=/home/huyhoang
EDITOR=nvim
LESSOPEN=||/usr/bin/lesspipe.sh %s
HOSTNAME=fedora
SDL_IM_MODULE=fcitx
XDG_TEMPLATES_DIR=/home/huyhoang/
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
MEMORY_PRESSURE_WRITE=c29tZSAyMDAwMDAgMjAwMDAwMAA=
HOME=/home/huyhoang
DEBUGINFOD_IMA_CERT_PATH=/etc/keys/ima:
HYPRLAND_CMD=Hyprland --watchdog-fd 4
STARSHIP_SHELL=fish
HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE=36b2e0cfe0c6094dbc47bd42a437431315bb3087_1785064815_1845077186
TERMINAL=kitty
SSH_ASKPASS=/usr/libexec/openssh/gnome-ssh-askpass
XMODIFIERS=@im=fcitx
MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1
USE_CCACHE=1
SHLVL=1
QT_WAYLAND_DISABLE_WINDOWDECORATION=1
KITTY_PID=212010
XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP=Hyprland
WAYLAND_DISPLAY=wayland-1
QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt6ct
SUDO_COMMAND=/bin/fish -c env
CLUTTER_IM_MODULE=fcitx
MANAGERPIDFDID=110616
JOURNAL_STREAM=10:26433

These are output of env:

MEMORY_PRESSURE_WRITE=c29tZSAyMDAwMDAgMjAwMDAwMAA=
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
XDG_SESSION_PATH=/org/freedesktop/DisplayManager/Session1
XDG_PICTURES_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Pictures
HYPRCURSOR_THEME=Qogir-cursors
XDG_DATA_DIRS=/home/huyhoang/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share:/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share:/usr/local/share:/usr/share
CCACHE_COMPRESS=1
MPD_HOST=/home/huyhoang/.config/mpd/socket
JOURNAL_STREAM=10:26433
XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Documents
KITTY_PID=212010
XDG_SEAT=seat0
SHELL=/bin/fish
XDG_SESSION_ID=3
AQ_DRM_DEVICES=/dev/dri/amd-igpu:/dev/dri/nvidia-egpu
MAIL=/var/spool/mail/huyhoang
MOZ_USE_XINPUT2=1
TERM=xterm-kitty
HISTSIZE=1000
GTK_USE_PORTAL=1
DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/1000/docker.sock
QT_IM_MODULE=fcitx
CCACHE_MAXSIZE=50G
GDK_DEBUG=portals
HYPRCURSOR_SIZE=24
XDG_SEAT_PATH=/org/freedesktop/DisplayManager/Seat0
QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt6ct
KITTY_PUBLIC_KEY=1:QWhMe!$Rx6NPZK@e16LsNx%u?V;R>UMqSY|Kxy<{
UWSM_FINALIZE_VARNAMES=HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE HYPRLAND_CMD HYPRCURSOR_THEME HYPRCURSOR_SIZE XCURSOR_SIZE XCURSOR_THEME
SYSTEMD_EXEC_PID=2370
XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP=Hyprland
XDG_DESKTOP_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Desktop
HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE=36b2e0cfe0c6094dbc47bd42a437431315bb3087_1785064815_1845077186
PATH=/home/huyhoang/.asdf/shims:/usr/lib/safe-rm:/home/huyhoang/n/bin:/usr/local/bin:/home/huyhoang/.yarn/bin:/home/huyhoang/.config/yarn/global/node_modules/.bin:/home/huyhoang/.local/bin:/home/huyhoang/.asdf/shims:/usr/lib/safe-rm:/usr/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/home/huyhoang/bin:/home/huyhoang/.bun/bin:/home/huyhoang/.cargo/bin:/bin:/home/huyhoang/.local/share/neovim/bin:/home/huyhoang/.local/share/bob/nvim-bin:/home/huyhoang/.pyenv/bin:/home/huyhoang/android_root/platform-tools/adb:/opt/cuda/bin:/usr/local/VideoSubFinder:/home/huyhoang/go/bin:/home/huyhoang/.dotnet/tools:/home/huyhoang/bin:/home/huyhoang/.bun/bin:/home/huyhoang/.local/bin:/home/huyhoang/.cargo/bin:/bin:/home/huyhoang/.local/share/neovim/bin:/home/huyhoang/.local/share/bob/nvim-bin:/home/huyhoang/.pyenv/bin:/home/huyhoang/android_root/platform-tools/adb:/opt/cuda/bin:/usr/local/VideoSubFinder:/home/huyhoang/.yarn/bin:/home/huyhoang/go/bin:/home/huyhoang/.dotnet/tools
XDG_CONFIG_DIRS=/etc/xdg
DISPLAY=:0
KITTY_INSTALLATION_DIR=/usr/lib64/kitty
XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Hyprland
TERMINFO=/usr/lib64/kitty/terminfo
KITTY_LISTEN_ON=unix:/tmp/kitty-212010
LESSOPEN=||/usr/bin/lesspipe.sh %s
XMODIFIERS=@im=fcitx
USE_CCACHE=1
OZONE_PLATFORM=wayland
DEBUGINFOD_URLS=ima:enforcing https://debuginfod.fedoraproject.org/ ima:ignore
ELECTRON_OZONE_PLATFORM_HINT=wayland
XDG_VTNR=2
XDG_STATE_HOME=/home/huyhoang/.local/state
_JAVA_AWT_WM_NONREPARENTING=1
CLUTTER_IM_MODULE=fcitx
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000
ABBR_TIPS_PROMPT=\n💡 \e[1m{{ .abbr }}\e[0m => {{ .cmd }}
MANAGERPID=1902
QT4_IM_MODULE=fcitx
INPUT_METHOD=fcitx
XDG_SESSION_CLASS=user
LOGNAME=huyhoang
STARSHIP_SHELL=fish
MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1
DESKTOP_SESSION=hyprland-uwsm
HYPRLAND_CMD=Hyprland --watchdog-fd 4
QT_WAYLAND_DISABLE_WINDOWDECORATION=1
SDL_IM_MODULE=fcitx
GPG_TTY=not a tty
XDG_MENU_PREFIX=hyprland-
NOTIFY_SOCKET=/run/user/1000/systemd/notify
HOME=/home/huyhoang
XDG_TEMPLATES_DIR=/home/huyhoang/
INVOCATION_ID=f9eec5da037d45199574024912455b3a
XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Downloads
XDG_VIDEOS_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Videos
HOSTNAME=fedora
HISTCONTROL=ignoredups
JAVA_HOME=
STARSHIP_SESSION_KEY=2856580925961246
__ABBR_TIPS_KEYS=a__cp a__mv a__ssh a__sudo a__z a__zi
__ABBR_TIPS_VALUES=/usr/local/bin/advcp -g /usr/local/bin/advmv -g kitten ssh sudo -E -s __zoxide_z __zoxide_zi
PWD=/home/huyhoang
COLORTERM=truecolor
XDG_MUSIC_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Music
XDG_CACHE_HOME=/home/huyhoang/.cache
XCURSOR_SIZE=24
npm_config_prefix=/home/huyhoang/.local
TERMINAL=kitty
USER=huyhoang
XDG_BACKEND=wayland
EDITOR=nvim
ENABLE_HDR_WSI=1
GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx
UWSM_WAIT_VARNAMES=HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE
MEMORY_PRESSURE_WATCH=/sys/fs/cgroup/user.slice/user-1000.slice/user@1000.service/session.slice/wayland-wm@hyprland.desktop.service/memory.pressure
XDG_PUBLICSHARE_DIR=/home/huyhoang/Share
MANAGERPIDFDID=110616
SSH_AUTH_SOCK=/run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh
WLR_RENDERER=vulkan
KITTY_WINDOW_ID=1
HL_INITIAL_WORKSPACE_TOKEN=2e244c16-f911-4cf9-94f2-52a9e56c01e6
GLFW_IM_MODULE=fcitx
DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/1000/bus
MOZ_GMP_PATH=/usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/gmp-gmpopenh264/system-installed
SSH_ASKPASS=/usr/libexec/openssh/gnome-ssh-askpass
ABBR_TIPS_REGEXES=(^(\w+\s+)+(-{1,2})\w+)(\s\S+) (^(\s?(\w-?)+){3}).* (^(\s?(\w-?)+){2}).* (^(\s?(\w-?)+){1}).*
XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/home/huyhoang/.config
XDG_DATA_HOME=/home/huyhoang/.local/share
VISUAL=nvim
SHLVL=1
DEBUGINFOD_IMA_CERT_PATH=/etc/keys/ima:
XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland
WAYLAND_DISPLAY=wayland-1

Checklist

• I tried the latest nightly build, and the issue is still reproducible
• I updated the environment information (ya env) field to the nightly that I tried
• I can reproduce it after disabling all custom configs/plugins (mv ~/.config/yazi ~/.config/yazi-backup)

[sxyazi]

Thanks for the report!

This is an intentional cache isolation safety mechanism - Yazi tries to create the cache dir on startup (if it doesn't exist) and makes sure it's owned by the current user with 700 perms to keep things safe. Otherwise:

• User A could snoop on user B's original file contens by reading B's preview cache
• If user A starts Yazi but ends up using a cache dir owned by user B, then B could mess with the cache that A's process reads/writes/handles, and if A happens to be root, that means B could influence a privileged process
• Assuming user B's cache dir has 777 perms, but the cache files user A creates end up with 644, and if A and B aren't in the same group, A won't be able to load that cache at all, or even delete it to make a new one, so the cache keeps failing to load and previews end up broken

That said, the error message could probably be clearer, will open a PR for that in a bit.

[boydaihungst]

Can you also add a way to suppress that error message? At least for root user? I don't mind if root user can't create or read cache files (most previewer plugin handle this perfectly), but I use sudo yazi a lots and it shown up every time is kinda annoying.

[boydaihungst]

Especially if you use nvim + yazi.nvim to edit system files. :/

[sxyazi]

Does sudo -H yazi work for you?

I don't mind if root user can't create or read cache files

The problem here isn't that root can't create or read cache files, but that the cache files created by root can't be read by the cache directory owner themself. Or even worse, root might end up reading a malicious file that the cache directory owner controls.

[boydaihungst]

With -H, $HOME is changed to /root. The point of -E is to keep the $HOME = /home/username. Now if I use cd ~ it won't go to /home/username.

[boydaihungst]

There is a better way. If user set a cache_dir, it should create subfolder for each user to keep their cache files, of course with 700 permission. I guess you can check if it's root user, right? Even though root user have the same $HOME as normal user, it should use it own subfolder.

[sxyazi]

Can you elaborate a bit more on how that works?

[boydaihungst]

If I use cache_dir = /mnt/cache/

• When user A run yazi, user A has UID = 1000 -> yazi will create and use /mnt/cache/1000/ as it cache_dir
• When ROOT user run yazi, root user has UID = 0 -> yazi will create and use /mnt/cache/0/ as it cache_dir

-> All user read, write /mnt/cache, but it can only read, write to its own /mnt/cache/UID folder. The error message only shown up if user A can't read,write to /mnt/cache/.

-> This solved both problems you mentioned above.

[sxyazi]

That would change the semantics of cache_dir since cache_dir means using the specified path as the cache directory, but what you want is to use the specified path to create a new directory within it as the cache directory.

This would indeed solve the problem once and for all though, just it would need to be introduced as a breaking change: remove cache_dir and introduce a new cache_root. I think it's worth it, so let's reopen this.