godot: Safe save fails way too often

Couldn’t find any potential dupes.

Godot version: 3.2.1.stable 3.2.2.stable These two versions of Godot are the only ones I’ve ever used, and it happens on both of them.

OS/device including version: Microsoft Windows NT Version 10.0.18363.900 running on an Intel Core i3 and integrated graphics, This is not a visual problem.

Issue description: I keep experiencing a certain issue, and I’m getting sick of it. It happens sometimes when I do one or more of these things:

Run the project
Export the project
Save a change while it’s running
Save a change while it’s not running (although it happens less often when not running!)
Adding a file to the project The issue I’m experiencing is this: ERROR: Safe save failed. This may be a permissions problem, but also may happen because you are running a paranoid antivirus. If this is the case, please switch to Windows Defender or disable the 'safe save' option in editor settings. This makes it work, but increases the risk of file corruption in a crash. Firstly, no, Switching to Windows Defender doesn’t solve the issue. Secondly, my antivirus isn’t picking up Godot. And lastly, disabling safe save doesn’t help. What I think the issue is is that it’s trying to write to a file that’s in use.

Steps to reproduce: I think you have the best chance at getting this when saving a change to scene X while it’s using scene X.

Minimal reproduction project: N/A

About this issue

Original URL
State: open
Created 4 years ago
Reactions: 6
Comments: 32 (8 by maintainers)

Most upvoted comments

restart windows solve

barrrettt on Nov 3, 2022

If my theory is correct it has nothing to do with antivirus, but ownership of the files/directories inside %appdata%/Godot.

This is how I think it happend:
1. Install Godot 4.0. %appdata%/Godot is created and process owner is Godot 4.0

2. Install Godot 4.1. It's getting the crashes because the %appdata%/Godot is owned by 4.0.
In a lot of other software there is the update-button that solves this issue, but in game engines we want to be able to have several versions. Thus Epic and Unity has their Launcher and Hub that is suppose to solve these kind of problems.

Because Godot don’t have a official engine version manager maybe it would be smart to maybe separate the different appdata directories between versions?

Ex: %appdata%/Godot/v4.0 %appdata%/Godot/v4.1 %appdata%/Godot/v4.2

You can easily check ownership of the folder. And it’s regular permissions. Also program can’t be an owner, only user.

I’m also pretty sure it have nothing to do with antivirus. It can’t write some text file, with same name (except extension) as png picture thumbnail that contain screenshot of viewport. At least in my case.

SilentPrayeCG on Nov 14, 2023

This happens to me occiasionally on Windows 11 with v4.1.2.stable.mono.official [399c9dc39]. Disabling “safe save” (Editor Settings -> FileSystem -> On Save -> Safe Save on Backup then Rename) doesn’t prevent it happening. I’m also not using any antivirus (beyond what’s present in Windows 11 by default).

Rarely I get the following errors opening in a “Load Errors” prompt window which doesn’t let me copy them, but it lists 4 times the same error (at least they all begin with a red dot, usually signifying errors):

Unable to write to file 'C:/Users/MyName/AppData/Local/Godot/resthumb-someLongHexadecimalString.txt', file in use, locked or lacking permissions.

After closing this window I can continue editing and running my project.

sszigeti on Oct 18, 2023

@mhilbrunner did some work to try to address this in https://github.com/godotengine/godot/pull/51430, but it’s a neverending battle to find and fix all the Windows file access issues.

Calinou on Feb 12, 2022