Hundreds of `.vdoc`s appearing

[DavisVaughan]

Bug description

Reported in posit-dev/positron#7664 by @ravichowdhury88

System details:

Positron and OS details:

Positron Version: 2025.06.0 (user setup) build 48
Code - OSS Version: 1.99.0
Commit: 621d1ce8f7fecc9623e9ab59b36c62f23d626d3d
Date: 2025-05-12T03:47:04.780Z
Electron: 34.3.2
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.18.3
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100

Interpreter details:

R-4.5.0

Describe the issue:

Positron creating hundreds of .vdoc files in my code folder.

Steps to reproduce the issue:

Not sure

Expected or desired behavior:

Were there any error messages in the UI, Output panel, or Developer Tools console?

NA

Steps to reproduce

No response

Actual behavior

No response

Expected behavior

No response

Your environment

No response

[DavisVaughan]

This suggests that someone is calling virtualDocUriFromTempFile() but is not calling the cleanup hook when its done with the uri

quarto/apps/vscode/src/vdoc/vdoc-tempfile.ts

Line 74 in 21d404d

cleanup: async () => await deleteDocument(virtualDocTextDocument),

We just have to figure out who it is...

[DavisVaughan]

Because the files are visible, that implies they are local and are likely from "format" or "definition"

quarto/apps/vscode/src/vdoc/vdoc.ts

Line 150 in 21d404d

const local = ["format", "definition"].includes(action);

quarto/apps/vscode/src/providers/format.ts

Line 181 in 21d404d

const edits = await withVirtualDocUri(vdoc, document.uri, "format", async (uri: Uri) => {

quarto/apps/vscode/src/lsp/client.ts

Line 283 in 21d404d

const vdocUri = await virtualDocUri(vdoc, document.uri, "definition");

The "definition" handler looks fine. Like it has a finally block that does the cleanup.

One thing that caught my eye is that "format" uses withVirtualDocUri() and that does vdocUri.cleanup() without calling await on it like all other instances where we call vdocUri.cleanup(). I wonder if that has something to do with it.

quarto/apps/vscode/src/vdoc/vdoc.ts

Line 137 in 21d404d

vdocUri.cleanup();

[cscheid]

If the extension is otherwise crashing, then it's possible that finally clauses are not getting called...

[ravichowdhury88]

The extension works fine, I did not have any crash

[DavisVaughan]

The other thing to check on would be console.log() output to see if you have any of these Error removing vdoc... errors

quarto/apps/vscode/src/vdoc/vdoc-tempfile.ts

Line 86 in 21d404d

console.log(`Error removing vdoc at ${doc.fileName}: ${msg}`);

That would imply the finally clause is called but something is going wrong in the removal process

@cscheid do you know how to easily see the console.log() output? Does it go to Help -> Toggle Developer Tools -> Console? Probably?

[cscheid]

There's a way to build the extension and configure VS code it so that console.log goes to a tab, but I don't know if users of the installed extension can do it.

[juliasilge]

AFAIK console.log() does go to the Developer Tools console, yep.

@ravichowdhury88, can you check if you see messages about "Error removing vdoc" in your dev tools console? We have some info on how to access that at: https://positron.posit.co/troubleshooting.html#developer-tools

[ravichowdhury88]

I get this error

  ERR Unknown (FileSystemError): Failed to move '.vdoc.fd4310fe-0c09-4cdf-b72e-93214c4c9650.r' to the recycle bin (Failed to perform delete operation)
    at _FileSystemProviderError.create (file:///C:/Installs/Positron/resources/app/out/main.js:16360:31)
    at createFileSystemProviderError (file:///C:/Installs/Positron/resources/app/out/main.js:16214:34)
    at DiskFileSystemProviderChannel.delete (file:///C:/Installs/Positron/resources/app/out/main.js:28639:17)
error @ workbench.desktop.main.js:21685
error @ workbench.desktop.main.js:21770
error @ workbench.desktop.main.js:680610
apply @ workbench.desktop.main.js:508362
await in apply
$tryApplyWorkspaceEdit @ workbench.desktop.main.js:284844
_doInvokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:699221
_invokeHandler @ workbench.desktop.main.js:699207
_receiveRequest @ workbench.desktop.main.js:699150
_receiveOneMessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:699088
(anonymous) @ workbench.desktop.main.js:698948
_deliver @ workbench.desktop.main.js:3917
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:3942
fire @ workbench.desktop.main.js:307815
port.onmessage @ workbench.desktop.main.js:702542
workbench.desktop.main.js:21676  WARN IGNORING workspace edit: Unknown (FileSystemError): Failed to move '.vdoc.fd4310fe-0c09-4cdf-b72e-93214c4c9650.r' to the recycle bin (Failed to perform delete operation)

[DavisVaughan]

Is your recycle bin disabled by chance?

Like what is reported here:
microsoft/vscode#111111 (comment)

If so I imagine you did something like is outlined here:
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/enable-or-disable-permanently-delete-instead-of-recycle-bin-in-windows-11.11007/

[ravichowdhury88]

Unfortunately, this is a shared network drive.

[DavisVaughan]

Can you delete an arbitrary file from the Explorer pane?

Like how this person is trying to delete _app.js by right clicking on the file and deleting it
microsoft/vscode#111111 (comment)

Do you also get the same error?

[DavisVaughan]

Here's a thought, we swap out deleteDocument()'s current implementation of going through a WorkspaceEdit (which seems to use the "trash" by default (i.e. Recycle Bin on Windows) and doesn't seem to give us a way to tweak that)

quarto/apps/vscode/src/vdoc/vdoc-tempfile.ts

Lines 78 to 88 in 355803f

	// delete a document
	async function deleteDocument(doc: TextDocument) {
	try {
	const edit = new WorkspaceEdit();
	edit.deleteFile(doc.uri);
	await workspace.applyEdit(edit);
	} catch (error) {
	const msg = error instanceof Error ? error.message : JSON.stringify(error);
	console.log(`Error removing vdoc at ${doc.fileName}: ${msg}`);
	}
	}

with this:

async function deleteDocument(doc: TextDocument) {
  try {
    await workspace.fs.delete(doc.uri, {
      useTrash: false
    });
  } catch (error) {
    const msg = error instanceof Error ? error.message : JSON.stringify(error);
    console.log(`Error removing vdoc at ${doc.fileName}: ${msg}`);
  }
}

Where useTrash: false says "permanently delete this file, do not try and go through Recycle Bin".

I'm not sure if that would work on the network drive, but it seems like it might.

It also seems worth doing anyways, as right now we have a whole bunch of .vdoc files piling up in the user's trash can. I just checked my Trash on my Mac and I do indeed have a bunch of those in there. This should in theory bypass that and permadelete these temp files.

[ravichowdhury88]

Can you delete an arbitrary file from the Explorer pane?

Like how this person is trying to delete _app.js by right clicking on the file and deleting it microsoft/vscode#111111 (comment)

Do you also get the same error?

I am able to delete any the .vdoc and any other file from the shared drive without any issues.
Also the noticed my Recycle bin has about 100k .vdoc files