claude-md-import-read-failed

Failed to read imported file

Error

Rule Details

This rule complements claude-md-import-missing by catching a different failure mode: the imported file exists on disk, but reading its contents fails. Common causes include insufficient file permissions, the file being a directory instead of a regular file, binary files that cannot be read as text, or filesystem-level errors. The rule first confirms the file exists (deferring to claude-md-import-missing otherwise), then attempts to read it and reports any errors encountered.

Incorrect

Importing a file that exists but is not readable

# CLAUDE.md

@import .claude/rules/secrets.md

# Where secrets.md has permissions set to 000 (no read access)

Correct

Importing a file that exists and is readable

# CLAUDE.md

@import .claude/rules/coding-standards.md

How To Fix

Check the file permissions with ls -la and ensure the file is readable. If the file is a binary file, it should not be imported into CLAUDE.md. Verify the path does not point to a directory.

Options

This rule does not have any configuration options.

When Not To Use It

There is no reason to disable this rule. An unreadable import always indicates a problem that needs to be fixed.

Related Rules

• claude-md-import-missing
• claude-md-import-circular

Resources

• Rule Implementation
• Rule Tests

Version

Available since: v0.2.0