GNU bug report logs - #16154
Emacs crashes if $HOME isn't writable

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Package: emacs;

Reported by: reinhard.kotucha <at> web.de

Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2013 08:00:03 UTC

Severity: normal

Merged with 13930

Fixed in version 24.4

Done: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>

Bug is archived. No further changes may be made.

Full log

Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Reinhard Kotucha <reinhard.kotucha <at> web.de>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: Emacs crashes if $HOME isn't writable
Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2013 08:59:25 +0100

Hi,
when I do (as root)

   su nobody
   VISUAL=/usr/local/bin/emacs-24.3 crontab -e

Emacs says

   Creating directory: permission denied, //.emacs.d/

and refuses to do anything useful.  It's on purpose that user 'nobody'
doesn't have a writable HOME directory.

My current workaround is to put the lines

  if [[ ${LOGNAME} == 'nobody' ]]; then
    EDITOR=vim
  else
    EDITOR=emacs
  fi
 
into /etc/bashrc.

It would be better if Emacs can be used even if the HOME directory
isn't writable.  

vim allows me to edit the crontab and issues a warning 

  E138: Can't write viminfo file /.viminfo!

afterwards end but emacs refuses to do anything useful if $HOME isn't
writable. 

Regards,
  Reinhard

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reinhard Kotucha                                      Phone: +49-511-3373112
Marschnerstr. 25
D-30167 Hannover                              mailto:reinhard.kotucha <at> web.de
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Microsoft isn't the answer. Microsoft is the question, and the answer is NO.
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This bug report was last modified 11 years and 162 days ago.

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