node's fileSystem.readDirectorySync loops on loopy symlinks

[PedroHLC]

What is happening?

During initialization, while searching for elm.json, globby.sync takes literally forever, until the editor gives up on elm-language-server.

Why?

In my project I have ./.devenv pointing to many Nix-related stuff, one of those is MacOSX.platform which has some loopy symlinks:

find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/ncurses/ncursesw’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/ncurses’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/ncurses/ncurses’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/ncurses’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw/ncursesw’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw/ncurses’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/usr/include/ncurses/ncursesw’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/usr/include/ncurses’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/usr/include/ncurses/ncurses’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/usr/include/ncurses’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw/ncursesw’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw/ncurses’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/usr/include/ncurses/ncursesw’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/usr/include/ncurses’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/usr/include/ncurses/ncurses’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/usr/include/ncurses’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw/ncursesw’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw’.
find: File system loop detected; ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw/ncurses’ is part of the same file system loop as ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/usr/include/ncursesw’.
find: ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSymbolication.framework/Versions/A/A’: Too many levels of symbolic links
find: ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSymbolication.framework/Versions/Current/A’: Too many levels of symbolic links
find: ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSymbolication.framework/Versions/A/A’: Too many levels of symbolic links
find: ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.3.sdk/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSymbolication.framework/Versions/Current/A’: Too many levels of symbolic links
find: ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSymbolication.framework/Versions/A/A’: Too many levels of symbolic links
find: ‘./.devenv/profile/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX11.sdk/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSymbolication.framework/Versions/Current/A’: Too many levels of symbolic links

Workarounds

Patching elm-language-server to either followSymbolicLinks: false or adding "**/.devenv/**" to the ignore list seems to work. But these aren't elegant solutions.

[razzeee]

Wondering, if we can ignore hidden folders in general, unless it's an elm specific hidden folder

[PedroHLC]

@razzeee Sorry, busy week, I can add a server setting for that (ignore dot folders) in a PR. But, is it better than?:

1. exposing a setting to increase the exclude list?
2. finding the loops ahead-of globby and adding them to the exclude list?

[razzeee]

I thought globby supported that ignore part, but seems like you need to opt into it.