Fix fatal crash when getExternalFilesDir returns null in ManageSpaceActivity #19831

Kartikey15dem · 2025-12-16T16:03:43Z

Fixes - #19553

ManageSpaceActivity crashes on startup when getExternalFilesDir() unexpectedly
returns null.

Solution

Handle the fatal storage exception early inside IntentHandler.getAllStoragePermissions: detect the null storage directory, show a fatal error dialog, and ensure the originating activity finishes after user acknowledgement.
Keep a secondary fallback in MainActivity to catch any uncaught fatal storage exception and present the same fatal dialog as a last resort.
Send a silent crash report when an unexpected action or fatal storage condition occurs.

Tests

Add a Robolectric test that simulates getExternalFilesDir() returning null when invoked by IntentHandler.getAllStoragePermissions. Verify the fatal error dialog is shown and the activity finishes after dismissal.
Retain assertions that crash reports are sent when appropriate.

Notes

-Keeps error handling as close to the permission/intent flow as possible, improving UX and limiting the need for global fallbacks.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Fixes a crash in ManageSpaceActivity when getExternalFilesDir() returns null despite external storage being mounted. The fix catches the fatal storage exception during activity startup and displays an error dialog instead of crashing.

Added error handling in onCreate() to catch and handle storage-related RuntimeExceptions
Implemented a fatal error dialog that finishes the activity after user acknowledgement
Added comprehensive Robolectric tests to verify the error handling behavior

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

File	Description
ManageSpaceActivity.kt	Added error handling in onCreate to catch storage exceptions and display fatal error dialog
ManageSpaceActivityNoExternalFilesDirTest.kt	Added test coverage for null getExternalFilesDir scenario and dialog behavior

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AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/ui/windows/managespace/ManageSpaceActivity.kt

AnkiDroid/src/test/java/com/ichi2/anki/ui/windows/ManageSpaceActivityNoExternalFilesDirTest.kt

david-allison · 2025-12-18T08:30:43Z

AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/ui/windows/managespace/ManageSpaceActivity.kt

+    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
+        try {
+            super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
+        } catch (e: RuntimeException) {


Why?

The exception is being thrown during the creation of the ManageSpaceActivity and if its not throwing an exception then I think the super.onCreate needs to be called if the onCreate function is being overriden. So either the exception needs to be handled in ManageSpaceActivity or somewhere before where it actually occurs and being thrown but that would need to handle it at multiple places . So if you suggest any better way to handle it I will surely implement it.

@sanjaysargam This exception comes from:

ba341fc

[GSoC'24] refactor: convert NoteEditor from Activity to Fragment #16597

Anki-Android/AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/SingleFragmentActivity.kt

Lines 53 to 55 in 1223e1b

if (!ensureStoragePermissions()) {

return

}

Could you take a look through the logic?

the exception happens in ensureStoragePermissions() before ManageSpaceActivity.onCreate() is reached.
So the crash happens earlier in the call chain, and our try-catch in ManageSpaceActivity never runs.
I think the best fix is to catch SystemStorageException in IntentHandler.grantedStoragePermissions() and treat it as "permission not granted" so the activity finishes cleanly instead of crashing.
We can keep the ManageSpaceActivity fix as a safety net, but handling it in IntentHandler feels like the right primary fix.

david-allison · 2025-12-18T08:32:17Z

If you're going to put an AI reviewer on the PR, don't leave the comments unhandled.

The code style is unusual - why would you catch super.onCreate?

Kartikey15dem · 2025-12-19T08:06:36Z

The exception is being thrown during the creation of the ManageSpaceActivity and if its not throwing an exception then I think the super.onCreate needs to be called if the onCreate function is being overriden. So either the exception needs to be handled in ManageSpaceActivity or somewhere before where it actually occurs and being thrown but that would need to handle it at multiple places . So if you suggest any better way to handle it I will surely implement it.

sanjaysargam · 2025-12-20T17:52:03Z

Could you please add How has been tested in PR description.
or else share reproduction steps to test

sanjaysargam · 2025-12-20T18:04:49Z

AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/ui/windows/managespace/ManageSpaceActivity.kt

+
+    private fun isFatalStorageError(e: Throwable): Boolean =
+        e.message?.contains(
+            "getExternalFilesDir unexpectedly returned null",


This string might change across Android versions. I'd suggest you to use a more robust detection method

sanjaysargam · 2025-12-20T18:06:17Z

AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/ui/windows/managespace/ManageSpaceActivity.kt

+    private fun showFatalErrorDialog(e: Throwable) {
+        AlertDialog
+            .Builder(this)
+            .setTitle("Fatal error")


It should be localized

AnkiDroid/src/test/java/com/ichi2/anki/ui/windows/ManageSpaceActivityNoExternalFilesDirTest.kt

sanjaysargam · 2025-12-20T18:21:52Z

AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/ui/windows/managespace/ManageSpaceActivity.kt

+    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
+        try {
+            super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
+        } catch (e: RuntimeException) {


the exception happens in ensureStoragePermissions() before ManageSpaceActivity.onCreate() is reached.
So the crash happens earlier in the call chain, and our try-catch in ManageSpaceActivity never runs.
I think the best fix is to catch SystemStorageException in IntentHandler.grantedStoragePermissions() and treat it as "permission not granted" so the activity finishes cleanly instead of crashing.
We can keep the ManageSpaceActivity fix as a safety net, but handling it in IntentHandler feels like the right primary fix.

AnkiDroid/src/main/res/values/02-strings.xml

AnkiDroid/src/test/java/com/ichi2/anki/ui/windows/ManageSpaceActivityNoExternalFilesDirTest.kt

Kartikey15dem · 2025-12-21T17:51:50Z

@sanjaysargam
Did any of the dependencies got changed because I had reset my branch to the first commit which has passed all the Ci checks but then when I update my project then this import statement - import org.hamcrest.Matchers.instanceOf, is showing an error in the test files.

sanjaysargam · 2025-12-21T18:15:04Z

Please squash your commits into one. If you need any help regarding this, let me know.

Kartikey15dem · 2025-12-21T18:22:16Z

@sanjaysargam
Yes , sure it will of great help if you can brief me on that but still I am facing the issue which is being shown in the test files which I think is unrelated with my commits.

sanjaysargam · 2025-12-22T05:30:57Z

@Kartikey15dem
git squash is simply use to combine multiple commits into one commit, so that it will be easy to read and reviewer can easily review the code.

git rebase -i HEAD~N (here N is the last no.of commits you want to squash, in your case, it's 5), then you'll see last 5 commits
keep the first commit as it is and change pick -> squash for rest of the commits
write a clean meaningful commit message

Kartikey15dem · 2025-12-24T06:12:16Z

@sanjaysargam
All my checks have passed. Please merge the PR.

sanjaysargam · 2025-12-24T06:16:01Z

just a small request. Tag only when it's really urgent. Maintainer review PR, when they are free.
Happy coding!

Kartikey15dem · 2025-12-24T06:22:25Z

just a small request. Tag only when it's really urgent. Maintainer review PR, when they are free. Happy coding!

Oh really sorry, it was my first PR so I thought I have to notify the maintainer to get my PR merged. Will keep in mind next time.

david-allison · 2026-01-05T11:43:33Z

We shouldn't have a try...catch around super.onCreate. This case should be handled properly

Storage exception handled inside intenthandler

Kartikey15dem · 2026-01-08T05:30:13Z

We shouldn't have a try...catch around super.onCreate. This case should be handled properly

I have removed it . I was just using it as a last resort but I think its unnecessary as I am I handling the exception where it is being thrown . All my checks have passed .

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings December 16, 2025 16:03

github-actions bot added the New contributor label Dec 16, 2025

Copilot AI reviewed Dec 16, 2025

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david-allison marked this pull request as draft December 16, 2025 16:45

Kartikey15dem marked this pull request as ready for review December 17, 2025 04:37

david-allison reviewed Dec 18, 2025

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david-allison marked this pull request as draft December 18, 2025 08:32

david-allison added the Needs Author Reply Waiting for a reply from the original author label Dec 18, 2025

Kartikey15dem marked this pull request as ready for review December 18, 2025 09:43

david-allison added Needs reviewer reply Waiting for a reply from another reviewer and removed Needs Author Reply Waiting for a reply from the original author labels Dec 20, 2025

david-allison requested a review from sanjaysargam December 20, 2025 15:03

sanjaysargam suggested changes Dec 20, 2025

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sanjaysargam reviewed Dec 21, 2025

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sanjaysargam added Needs Author Reply Waiting for a reply from the original author and removed Needs reviewer reply Waiting for a reply from another reviewer labels Dec 21, 2025

Kartikey15dem force-pushed the fix-managespace-null-external-files-dir branch 2 times, most recently from 929085f to 2d989ad Compare December 24, 2025 05:24

Haz3-jolt added Needs Review and removed Needs Author Reply Waiting for a reply from the original author labels Jan 4, 2026

david-allison added the Needs Author Reply Waiting for a reply from the original author label Jan 5, 2026

Storage exception handled inside intenthandler

78419fb

Storage exception handled inside intenthandler

Kartikey15dem force-pushed the fix-managespace-null-external-files-dir branch from c7172fc to 78419fb Compare January 8, 2026 04:56

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Fix fatal crash when getExternalFilesDir returns null in ManageSpaceActivity #19831

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Fix fatal crash when getExternalFilesDir returns null in ManageSpaceActivity #19831

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Fixes - #19553

Solution

Tests

Notes

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