"Selecting deleted buffer" error upon common commands

[mathpunk]

"Selecting deleted buffer" error upon many commands (search, buffer, file, help...)

Description

Everything works normally on startup. But at some point --- I have not found the triggering condition --- commands like SPC f f or SPC b b or even / result in a "Selecting deleted buffer" message instead of the desired behavior.

Reproduction guide 🪲

• Start Emacs
• Do work for a few minutes (sorry) --- I'm generally working in an org-mode file, and lately I've been using tables but I'm not sure if these are related.

Observed behaviour: 👀 💔
"Selecting deleted buffer" is the response to many basic commands. Sometimes, but not always, one or more sometimes-incorrectly closed (defun dotspacemacs/emacs-custom-settings ()) ...) forms appear in the .spacemacs file, which I've been deleting manually to get the .spacemacs file to not crash so my configuration gets loaded correctly. Maybe this issue is like #7898 ?

Expected behaviour: ❤️ 😄
Stuff works.

System Info 💻

• OS: gnu/linux
• Emacs: 25.1.1
• Spacemacs: 0.200.9
• Spacemacs branch: develop (rev. 4361254)
• Graphic display: t
• Distribution: spacemacs
• Editing style: vim
• Completion: ivy
• Layers:

(sql python html ivy better-defaults
     (auto-completion :variables auto-completion-tab-key-behavior 'cycle auto-completion-space-key-behavior 'reject auto-completion-return-key-behavior 'reject auto-completion-enable-help-tooltip t auto-completion-enable-snippets-in-popup t auto-completion-enable-sort-by-usage t auto-completion-complete-with-key-sequence "jk" auto-completion-complete-with-key-sequence-delay 0.3)
     (shell :variables shell-default-shell 'term shell-default-term-shell "/usr/bin/zsh" shell-default-height 40 shell-default-position 'bottom)
     emacs-lisp javascript clojure latex git github restclient syntax-checking markdown deft org themes-megapack typography)

• System configuration features: XPM JPEG TIFF GIF PNG RSVG IMAGEMAGICK SOUND GPM DBUS GCONF GSETTINGS NOTIFY ACL GNUTLS LIBXML2 FREETYPE M17N_FLT LIBOTF XFT ZLIB TOOLKIT_SCROLL_BARS GTK3 X11

Backtrace 🐾

I don't know how to find a backtrace because the bug kills my ability to navigate buffers.

[mathpunk]

Update: I'm trying to find a minimal example of something that breaks everything. I went from working state, to deleting rows from one org-mode table and pasting them below another org-mode table, and saved, and that resulted in breakage. I have a couple functions that run on save which I will also try commenting out from my config.

[mathpunk]

A-ha! With these two functions no longer running after save, pasting rows and saving no longer breaks everything. These are the only 'after-save-hook functions I had.

;; Tangle Org files when we save them
;; (defun tangle-on-save-org-mode-file()
;;   (when (string= (message "%s" major-mode) "org-mode")
;;     (org-babel-tangle)))

;; (add-hook 'after-save-hook 'tangle-on-save-org-mode-file)
(defun to-agenda-on-save-org-mode-file()
  (when (string= (message "%s" major-mode) "org-mode")
    (org-agenda-file-to-front)))

;; (add-hook 'after-save-hook 'to-agenda-on-save-org-mode-file)

[jdelStrother]

I've found that simply running org-agenda-file-to-front is enough to trigger this

[fiveNinePlusR]

The selecting deleted buffer happens to me from time to time as well and I cannot do a spc b b or pretty much anything until I restart emacs.

[duianto]

Killing a ranger buffer and closing the new frame that was opened, puts you in a state where a lot of key bindings show the message: Selecting deleted buffer

Reproduction steps with the ranger layer installed

Open a ranger "session": SPC a r
Kill the selected ranger buffer: SPC b d
The messages buffer shows:

Ranger window was overwritten. Redirecting window to new frame

and a new frame opens, where the key bindings seem to work as expected. But when the new frame is closed: SPC q f (SPC q z in the master branch). Then the initial frame gets selected and when SPC is pressed, then this message is shown:

Error running timer ‘which-key--update’: (error "Selecting deleted buffer")

The frame splits with the bottom window showing <M> where the window number used to be. The top window shows 1 as the window number. The <M> window doesn't close when the cursor is in the top window and SPC w m is pressed to maximize that window.

A lot of key bindings show these messages (without opening a new frame):

Ranger window was overwritten. Redirecting window to new frame
apply: Selecting deleted buffer

SPC q r doesn't restart, it just shows the selecting deleted buffer message. But one way of restarting, is to open a new frame SPC w F, where SPC q r works.

Sometimes it's also possible to get back to normal, without restarting, by pressing SPC b n to switch to the ranger buffer. Or if the ranger buffer isn't found then open a new ranger buffer SPC a r.
Press q to close it.

System Info 💻

• OS: windows-nt
• Emacs: 25.2.2
• Spacemacs: 0.200.9
• Spacemacs branch: develop (rev. a213729)
• Graphic display: t
• Distribution: spacemacs
• Editing style: vim
• Completion: helm
• Layers:

(autohotkey markdown ranger emacs-lisp git github helm org syntax-checking version-control)

• System configuration features: XPM JPEG TIFF GIF PNG RSVG SOUND NOTIFY ACL GNUTLS LIBXML2 ZLIB TOOLKIT_SCROLL_BARS MODULES

[duianto]

I'm unable to reproduce the "Selecting deleted buffer" issue with ranger. The steps above, seems to have been related to another ranger issue, where the middle column, didn't show any text for files and some folders. That issue was fixed a couple of days ago.

[duianto]

Maybe this could be helpful:

It seems most likely that you've captured the buffer object for the original (and now deleted) buffer, and have passed that object to with-current-buffer, rather than the object for the new buffer. – phils Jun 27 '14 at 5:52

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24443236/selecting-deleted-buffer-error-in-elisp?rq=1#comment37825323_24443236

[hendrikcech]

I encountered this bug for the first time a few days ago. Mostly happens when working in org-mode, but can't nail it down any further yet. I can confirm that running org-agenda-file-to-front is enough to trigger this behavior. I'm on the develop branch, using Emacs 25.1 on OS X 10.11.6 if that helps.

Has anyone found a workaround that isn't "restart emacs"?

[jb55]

This happens a lot for me recently. Only way to fix is to restart. Really annoying.

[jb55]

This reproduces it for me every time:

1. Start Spacemacs
2. SPC : customize-variable
3. org-adapt-indentation
4. Set to off
5. Click Apply and Save

[wizmer]

Any call to customize-variable followed by Apply and Save triggers the bug for me.

[jb55]

Yeah this is getting exceedingly annoying. It sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Mostly doesn't. I even tried wiping my .spacemacs to a clean slate and it was still doing it ???

[tekacs]

This occurs for me if I open a multi-term and kill the buffer (with SPC b d). The only way I can close multi-terms is by sending an EOF to the terminal, which isn't feasible if the application in the terminal has crashed or is spewing a lot of output, for example (but this fails even if the shell is responding).

As above, having to kill the entire session and resurrect is... not fun. 😕