Cannot edit file in read-only mode

[KBMD]

I open a Jupyter notebook in Positron. I have the current version sync'd with origin/main per git, and I have main checked out. But when I try to edit, i get the error message "Cannot edit in read-only editor." There's a lock symbol by the filename at the tab at the top of the editor. I've tried a dozen things. I can't figure out why the lock is there or how to unlock it. How do I make the file editable?

p.s. I just tried opening it a fifth or tenth time and this time it worked. I have no idea why.

[austin3dickey]

Thanks for the issue, and happy to know it got resolved. Let us know if it happens again!

[KBMD]

Do you know how one would lock a file or have that lock symbol appear? Or disappear?
It was not file system read-only, and it wasn't a git issue, if that helps.
Thanks.

[austin3dickey]

The most likely scenario for seeing the lock icon is if the file/filesystem is marked read-only or doesn't have access permissions at the OS level. That could happen if another program (file backup?) was using the file. But it's also possible that during startup of some process (notebook initialization? git?) it was marked as temporarily read-only.

Searching upstream, I see these issues:

• Copilot agent mode makes notebook cells greyed out microsoft/vscode#257268
• Copilot Inline Chat in VS Code Jupyter Notebooks Produces Immutable Preview Cells Instead of Applying Direct Model Edits to Active NotebookCellDocument microsoft/vscode#261555

Do you have Positron Assistant enabled? It's possible that it marked the file as readonly and some condition didn't restore access.

[KBMD]

I don't--or at least not intentionally--but thank you for looking into the issue! If it happens again, are there files I could share to help figure out what's going on? It did happen once before but I shook it off the first time.

[austin3dickey]

You could inspect the developer tools console (Help > Toggle Developer Tools) or any Output channels for related errors. It might also be instructive to see if you can edit the file in another editor like VS Code or a Notepad/TextEdit, or otherwise check its permissions. Or maybe run git status to see if there's anything strange happening.

[KBMD]

Thank you! Will do if it happens again.
(I did try git status.)