`withBinaryFile: invalid argument (Invalid argument)` error

[qtfkwk]

I'm trying to track down the cause of a withBinaryFile: invalid argument (Invalid argument) error I'm seeing with pandoc on Windows... any idea what causes it, in general? (There aren't many hits after searching for a while.) Appreciate any insight you might have. Thanks!

There aren't any references to this error in pandoc's own code, and a few adjacent hits in issues, it appears that withBinaryFile and invalid argument are inherent to Haskell ( https://hoogle.haskell.org/?hoogle=withBinaryFile )? (I have zero exp in Haskell btw.)

Admittedly, I'm also kinda doing something weird, but maybe these details help (?)... I'm running something like pandoc file.md -o file.docx on Windows with the latest pandoc version 3.1.9 and it works flawlessly in either PowerShell or Git Bash... also running sh -c 'pandoc file.md -o file.docx' in Git Bash works fine... but if I run from within a Rust utility in Git Bash via std::process::Command::new("sh").args(["-c", "pandoc file.md -o file.docx"]).spawn().unwrap().wait().unwrap() suddenly it doesn't work... but other commands that don't use pandoc via this method work fine.

I have also tried several other Pandoc versions and so far they're all consistently working / not working in the same way.

I've also tried various contents of the input markdown file ranging from very complex (>6000 lines with hundreds of images, divs with custom styles, and with/without --reference-doc=reference.dox) to a super basic input markdown with a level 1 heading and a single paragraph. No matter what (so far) I get: pandoc.exe: file.md: withBinaryFile: invalid argument (Invalid argument).

I'm guessing there's either some permissions issue and/or a file path issue stemming from a windows/git-bash inconsistency.

See also: https://github.com/JessicaTegner/pypandoc/issues/292#issuecomment-1802403378

[jgm]

That's really strange. I don't actually know what triggers InvalidArgument IO exception. I've never seen that before. Are symlinks involved?

[qtfkwk]

Honestly, this situation is pretty weird... so I'd imagine it probably doesn't affect many people. Regardless, I do like to document such things in case anyone else sees this (or myself again in ~6 months), it's documented here.

There's definitely no direct symlinks that I'm using on purpose in these files. I have tried both with local folders and files in the current directory and seems to have no effect.

I'm planning to try a few more ideas as well as investigate more around how Rust's std::process::Command works on Windows, since that's probably the next weakest point in my knowledge (after Haskell). Will report back if/when I figure it out. Thanks again!

[jgm]

Does rust have a version of the process command that separates out the arguments instead of just passing in a big string with the full command? If so, try that?

[qtfkwk]

Does rust have a version of the process command that separates out the arguments instead of just passing in a big string with the full command? If so, try that?

No effect; same error

Here's an example of the output from Rust utility (mkrs) with contents of file.rst just hello and the following tweaks:

```text
$ pandoc -v
c = "pandoc" "-v"
pandoc 3.1.8
Features: +server +lua
Scripting engine: Lua 5.4
User data directory: C:\Users\qtfkwk\AppData\Roaming\pandoc
Copyright (C) 2006-2023 John MacFarlane. Web: https://pandoc.org
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is no
warranty, not even for merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
```

```text
$ pandoc file.rst -t markdown
c = "pandoc" "file.rst" "-t" "markdown"
pandoc: file.rst: withBinaryFile: invalid argument (Invalid argument)
```

 fn run(command: &str, dry_run: bool) {
     bunt::println!("{$#555555}```text\n${/$} {$#00ffff+bold}{}{/$}", command);
+    /*
     if !dry_run
-        && std::process::Command::new("sh")
+        && !std::process::Command::new("sh")
             .args(["-c", command])
             .spawn()
             .unwrap()
             .wait()
             .unwrap()
-            .code()
-            != Some(0)
+            .success()
     {
         bunt::println!("{$#555555}```{/$}\n");
         error!(4, "ERROR: The command failed!");
     }
+    */
+    if !dry_run {
+        let mut c = execute::command(command);
+        eprintln!("c = {c:?}");
+        if !c.spawn().unwrap().wait().unwrap().success() {
+            bunt::println!("{$#555555}```{/$}\n");
+            error!(4, "ERROR: The command failed!");
+        }
+    }
     bunt::println!("{$#555555}```{/$}\n");
 }

[qtfkwk]

For reference: https://github.com/search?q=%22withBinaryFile%3A+invalid+argument%22&type=issues

[Russellwhatever]

is the problem finished? I'm faced with it also and cannot find the reason.I'm windows too and my ob version is 1.5.3

[Wellidontcare]

I was facing this problem in python:

subprocess.run(["pandoc", f"{file}", f"-o {export_file_path.as_posix()}", "--pdf-engine=xelatex"])

This does the trick:

subprocess.run(["pandoc", f"{file}", "-o", f"{export_file_path.as_posix()}", "--pdf-engine=xelatex"])

Notice the "-o" is split from the filepath. I have no idea why not doing so leads to this error. I suspect the rust issue is something similar.

[qtfkwk]

Cool. Will check. Thanks!

The difference is that your first command is effectively running:

pandoc "$file" "-o $export_file_path" --pdf-engine=xelatex

Instead of:

pandoc "$file" -o "$export_file_path" --pdf-engine=xelatex

So I presume the whatever pandoc uses for command line option/argument parsing, or Haskell itself, is choking on the "-o $export_file_path" argument.

[jgm]

Correct. Can this issue now be closed?