Rust installation fails on Windows Subsystem for Linux: could not rename component file

Question

I'm trying to install Rust on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) by running the following command which is provided officially here:

curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh

I've installed Ubuntu from the Microsoft Store.

The problem is that the fails with 5 similar errors:

error: could not rename component file from '/home/thesdev/.rustup/tmp/glf5z1z643ehld0x_dir/bk' to '/home/thesdev/.rustup/toolchains/stable-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/share/man'

...

error: failed to install component: 'rust-docs-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu', detected conflict: '"share/doc/rust/html"'

Screenshot is from VS Code. Trying it in the Ubuntu application results in the same errors.

Answer 1

Apparently, you need to close Visual Studio Code and run the command directly at the WSL prompt. The underlying issue is among the most-encountered WSL bugs:

• npm package fails to install "npm ERR! Error: EACCES: permission denied"
• Unable to save file when inotify is in use (using Node)
• EACCES when renaming folder that is being watched from nodejs

I wouldn't be surprised if virus scanners could trigger this as well, not just Visual Studio Code.

Answer 2

After several failed installations with the same error, I had to nuke my .rustup directory. I then ran the Rust installer with sudo. I recommend also temporarily turning off your antivirus protection, as that seems to cause issues.

The entire sequence of commands:

$ sudo rm -rf ./home/<your_username>/.rustup
$ curl 'https://sh.rustup.rs' -sSf > rustinstall.sh
$ sudo ./rustinstall.sh -y

Answer 3

It seems that adding sudo to the start of the command does the trick.