Background task fails with EPERM when user lacks write access to drive root
Resolved 💬 5 comments Opened Dec 16, 2025 by davidrimshnick Closed Feb 14, 2026
Description
Running a background task fails with EPERM: operation not permitted when Claude Code attempts to create a temp directory at the drive root (e.g., H:\tmp). This happens when the user lacks write permissions to the drive root, which is common on:
- Network/mapped drives
- System drives without admin privileges
Root Cause
Claude Code appears to be creating a temp directory at {drive_root}/tmp instead of using the system temp directory (%TEMP% / os.tmpdir()).
Error Message
EPERM: operation not permitted, mkdir 'H:\tmp'
path: "H:\tmp",
syscall: "mkdir",
errno: -1,
code: "EPERM"
at iJD (B:/~BUN/root/claude.exe:904:8578)
at mg (B:/~BUN/root/claude.exe:904:9299)
at spawn (B:/~BUN/root/claude.exe:1507:708)
at spawn (B:/~BUN/root/claude.exe:1507:1079)
at K (B:/~BUN/root/claude.exe:3476:20268)
at K (B:/~BUN/root/claude.exe:3476:20447)
at Y (B:/~BUN/root/claude.exe:3476:20464)
at Z (B:/~BUN/root/claude.exe:3476:20535)
at <anonymous> (B:/~BUN/root/claude.exe:2836:21583)
Steps to Reproduce
- Set working directory to a drive where you lack root write permissions (e.g., mapped network drive
H:\, orC:\without admin) - Run any command with
run_in_background: true(or move a task to background via UI) - Error occurs immediately
Expected Behavior
Background tasks should use the system temp directory (%TEMP% or C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Temp) instead of trying to create a temp folder at the drive root.
Environment
- OS: Windows (MINGW64_NT-10.0-17763 3.6.5)
- Platform: win32
- Working directory: Network mapped drive (H:\) - no write access to drive root
This issue has 5 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗