:w changes state of buffer to 'saved' even if write failed

[nekodjin]

Summary

The command :w will change the state of a file to 'saved' (removing the [+] symbol), even if the write did not succeed. Because the :q command checks this state before exiting (to prevent losing unsaved work), this bug can cause the :wq command to appear to write and exit successfully when no file was written and all work was lost. The most common cause of a write failing (in my experience) is if the file path includes a directory that does not exist.

Reproduction Steps

Open helix on a file whose path contains nonexistent directories, like this:

hx these/dirs/dont/exist.txt

Write some text. Use the command :w. Note that while an error message is displayed, the "change indicator" ([+]) has disappeared. Write some more text. Use the command :wq. Helix will appear to write and exit successfully, but the specified file will not have been created.

Helix log

No response

Platform

Linux

Terminal Emulator

WinTerm (WSL2)

Helix Version

helix 22.05-dev (29121a1)